Hannibal's Obsession
by WalterianDragon
Summary: Hannibal knows he has an obsession in bringing his Will to higher plains with himself. Will is a clueless FBI agent just trying to save lives. The battle between good and evil, right and wrong. Can Will resist temptation? Slow burn
1. Chapter 1

"It's eight-twenty-six, I'm in Doctor Lector's office, and my name is Will Graham." Will droned monotonously as he fell into his regular chair at the request of his non-therapist with a huff.

Glancing up Will found the doctor seated in the exact same chair as Will's, opposite his own, as though they were a perfect reflection of each other; Will the pinnacle of all things unstable, while the doctor seemed to have an everlasting control over everything around him, gazing at the twitchy male across from him with a calm demeanor.

"Very good Will, however you are well over an hour late. May I inquire as to the reason why?"

The man before Will kept his voice even though Will could see the annoyance, or perhaps concern, over his unknown whereabouts and though the question was politely phrased, it was a clear demand merely masked in kindness.

"S-sorry, I was in class, and after everyone left I...I just lost track of time."

Without a moment's hesitation the doctor rose from his seat to check Will over, holding his wrist to check his pulse while laying the other hand against Will's cheek.

"What do you remember Will?" The doctor whispered, his attention completely tuned on what Will would say and, while finding his pulse to be erratic but not troubling, continued his hold on the empath's wrist and cheek.

"It wasn't like I lost time…. I just st-tarted thinking about the ripper and I saw it again, the Stag I mean." Will responded, intriguing the doctor greatly. "It was-sn't like before, I mean it didn't feel…. malicious."

"You weren't afraid anymore, and what were you afraid it would do in its malicious moments?" The doctor finally leaned back as Will twitched uncomfortably, though it was more to do with his own stuttering than the steady pulse of his not-doctor's grip.

"I don't know, it wasn't really so much that I'm afraid of what it would do, I know what it does." Will shivered in disgust, allowing the doctor's mouth to twitch into a dark smile as he went to get a glass of Will's favourite brandy.

"Thanks Doctor." Will spoke as he eyed the drink and nearly snatched it from the doctor's hands, making the other quite proud of the empath's restraint, however little it may have seemed, as he refrained from immediately bottoming out the glass. It was almost as though Will was attempting to seem even remotely sane before him, a useless if adorable attempt the doctor appreciated.

"Hm, you are welcome Will. So if you are not afraid of the Stag's capabilities than perhaps it is your own that troubles you."

"Yeah, I gu-uess doc." Will's eyes remained on the small amount of brandy left in the no doubt expensive glass twirling in his shaky hands as he spoke uncommitedly.

"Will." Doctor Lector inquired in a way he could not refuse, which left Will finding it to be an unbelievably polite command for his attention. He gave it, but only after drinking the last gulp of brandy and putting the cup on the table before him.

"Yes Doctor Lector?" He asked, eyes twitching as he struggled to maintain eye contact with the other and shocked at the smile that greeted his sight.

"I have told you many a time, as these are simply conversations, that you may call me Hannibal. Such titles are far too formal for a relationship like our own." Hannibal's smile twitched into a smirk as Will looked away, a blush on his face in a hew that Hannibal felt he would not be able to recreate with all the time and utensils in the world at his disposal.

"I-I….I mean sure, uhm Hannibal." Will stammered out.

"You were saying, Will." Hannibal gently urged the nervous male onward.

"Well, I don't know, I think it just didn't expect me to do anyth-hing and just wanted t-to see me." Will ran his fingers around the glass as he sat forward, his back arched uncomfortably though he barely noticed as he focused all his efforts on ceasing his jittery speech.

Hannibal walked back to the cupboard to pull out the full jar of brandy and a bottle of Italian wine for himself, refilling Will's glass if only to earn that grateful smile in return.

"Why did it wish to do that Will?" Hannibal questioned.

"I don't know." Will whispered as he gulped his brandy and lay back on the chair.

"Yes you do." The Doctor responded, seeing through the weak facade of comfort easily.

"It…." Will scrunched his face up, adorably so in Hannibal's opinion. "It licked me."

"Ah, it showed affection for you, perhaps reaffirming that it will not let you lose yourself. That is your greatest fear after all." Hannibal reasoned gently, though it still cut through Will like a knife at being left so bare so easily by the Doctor.

"Well, yeah probably…" Will responded to ignore the pain.

"But that is not all it did." Hannibal spoke, reading the empath's hesitance with ease.

"No." Will sunk his head and accepted he was truly incapable of hiding anything from the man in front of him.

"And what else did it do Will?" Hannibal 'politely demanded' again.

"It tugged at my wrist." Will responded, looking at the cuff of the sweater he was wearing and running his fingers over the fabric, his eyes glazed and mind far away. "It was trying to lead me somewhere."

"Where Will." Hannibal spoke, unintentionally forgoing his own facade at questioning as he watched Wills eyes swirl in blood and flesh with deep fascination and endearment, especially as those lush green orbs rose up to make certain the Stag was nowhere near before the male answered.

"Somewhere, well nowhere but somewhere in my mind. It wants something from me but I just d-don't know what." Will spoke in a hushed tone, hands reaching to hold his curls in a vice grip as he once again cursed his 'gift'. "To do something for it. No." Will thought for a moment before grimacing, "…with it."

"Will." Hannibal whispered, his voice suddenly right in front of the unsteady male.

As Will attempted to leap back and over the chair out of surprise and scheer panic the doctor suddenly placed a firm grip on the male's shoulders, keeping him in place and staring deeply into green eyes to assure Will's full attention was on him before continuing.

"Will. The stag was affectionate, it did not force you to follow and does not intrude upon you here. It wants you to trust it Will. To trust it will not lead you astray and that it cares for you. You know where it would lead you if you so chose, you know what it does, are you afraid of the Stag Will?" Hannibal asked, the soft voice and cool gaze returning to sooth his empath.

Wills eyes had flickered a few moments after the doctor had begun talking, though with nowhere to be able to run he was forced to focus on the calm tenor of Hannibal's voice, thinking about the question before briefly gazing into the larger male's sanguine eyes.

"I'm afraid of what it wants me do." Will whispered. "I'm afraid of what I'll do."

"That is not what I asked." Hannibal nudged gently. "Will, are you afraid."

Wills hands twitched for the half full glass upon the table before him, Hannibal clearly not willing to move nor loosen his strong yet loose grip until his 'non-query' was answered.

"No." Will finally huffed out, the doctor releasing him a moment later, leaning back from essentially covering Will's body for his reward of more mind numbing brandy. One hand reached out to roam through Wills curls as the man finished the last of his glass and gently rubbed at droopy, torn at curls in an attempt in vain to undo Wills rough treatment as the doctor thought out his options, all the while finishing his own glass of wine in slow sips.

Hannibal quickly came to a decision, removing the glass from Wills loose grip and placing it and his own empty wine glass back in the cupboard along with the bottles of wine and brandy before Will simply began chugging the liquid from the bottle itself, the thought clearly running through the empath's head if his wandering eyes were any suggestion. He then returned to his own seat, watching Will in his slight daze and waiting patiently for him to arise from it himself, the blood filled eyes returning, no doubt along with thoughts of the Stag. Hannibal would have drawn the male if his movement would not have startled the poor deer, so skittish of any and all noise as it attempted to move without being seen, having no idea it was being stalked and lured exactly where its predator wished.

Finally Wills eyes brightened, though only slightly thanks to the alcohol as he rose from his chair, believing his session to be over.

"Well I guess I'll see you next week Doctor Lector."

"Hannibal." The man reminded fondly.

"Right, Hannibal. See you next week." Will started again as his wrist was grabbed, the doctor moving swiftly and silently though his grip was gentle.

"Will. I believe you are far too intoxicated to drive." Hannibal gave a slight smile as he gently led the other by the wrist out the door of his office, into the waiting room where he pulled Wills coat up for him and, as the alcohol left Will far too vulnerable for him to resist, deeply inhaled at the nape of the male's neck as he helped the empath into his jacket.

"My dogs." Will attempted at a rebuttal of whatever the doctor would offer and insist he take.

"Hmm. Yes. I will take care of it Will." The sanguine eyed male jumped in before Will could make another protest, quickly pulling on his own coat, and draping his scarf over Will, the man too intoxicated or deep in thought or both to care. He then proceeded to lead Will, with his hand once more upon Wills wrist out into the cool night air and to his car, the other spending most of this time staring at his wrist now in the doctor's firm yet gentle grip, mind a thousand miles away.

"I will take care of everything." 


	2. Chapter 2

_He was running, the trees and other foliage rushing past in whirls of speed as he moved. Faster and faster he pushed himself, not looking back, knowing what followed closer behind with every step he took._

 _The pants began to rise in volume, the stomp of hooves over the earth growing with every gasp of air that was sucked into his lungs as he leapt over tree trunks and ducked beneath branches, keeping time with Will easily even in the confined space of the forest. Will took random turns as the creature grew too close, gaining only a moment on the beast before it retook it the next moment. As the treeline began to thin Will realized in that moment that he had been led here by his tormentor, having twisted him up in reality as well as within his own head, and he collapsed at the very edge of the dark forest, feeling the blood leaking from his cut, bare feet, leading the creature right to him._

 _A light clopping reached just behind him, followed by a snout nosing from his lower back up to the curls plastered to the nape of his neck, snuffling and stroking the sobbing male in as soothing a manor that it could manage, which was difficult to achieve with the blood dripping from its huge antlers, near cradling Wills entire body within the massive rack._

 _Will gripped his skull in both hands, attempting with all his might to convince himself the world around him was not real, 'not real- not real-not real'. Looking up, Will came eye to bloody red eye with the beast, its large head nearly pressed against his own and, though the look was calm and almost soothing, the scenes of murder and even more foul practices raced in clear view as the creature slowly backed away. This revealed the world beyond the forest, all Will could see was blood, the same blood dripping from his cradle of antlers and, after a moments realization, the very same blood currently drenching the shaking hands held before him._

Will awoke in the car some time later, gazing with more clarity at the road before him and avoiding at all costs looking at his no doubt shaking palms for fear he might still be covered in the red paint.

"It is ten o' nine, you are in my car, and your name is Will Graham." Hannibal spoke gently as he turned down another road, Will quickly recognizing the turn as one he took daily.

"You didn't have to drive me D-Doctor."

"And leave you in the hands of another at such a vulnerable point? I am disappointed, Will, that you think so little of me." Hannibal replied lightly, eyes never leaving the road before them. "In any case, you should not be left alone tonight, not with such a heightened possibility of your night-time wanderings."

"I didn't mean it like that… I mean…" Will mumbled in response, gazing out his own window before realizing the full extent of the doctor's words, "and I have the dogs so I'll be fine, Winston never lets me go too far. I do appreciate the ride though, thanks… Hannibal."

That caused the doctor to turn his head, staring deeply and darkly at the brown curls for a moment before returning his attention to the road, taking another moment to let Wills obvious discomfort peak before continuing.

"I know Will, however you shall return with me to my house in the morning, after we finish feeding your pack, and then I will bring you to the office to retrieve your car." He finished with an air of finality.

"I d-don't want to impose-"

"It is no imposition Will," Hannibal cut off the empaths attempt to get away from the situation, slowing the car as he turned into Wills incredibly long driveway, "I have yet to see you in such a state and I am curious as to whether or not a good meal may be all you require. When was the last time you had a good home-cooked meal, pleasant company, and a good night's rest Will?"

"I…. I don't know." Will responded truthfully about the first part of Hannibal's question while ducking the latter, as he could not pinpoint a date in the last decade, or perhaps even two when he had had a full nights rest let alone a good one. "I guess the last time you cooked for me.."

"That was over three months past Will. I am surprised your still alive with such little attention to your own well-being." Hannibal responded as they finally reached the house, Winston seen through the window diligently awaiting his masters return.

"Mmhm there are few in my head that give me that luxury I guess." Will mumbled lowly, not really expecting a response, but with a few moments of silence passing between the two Will turned to find Hannibal staring at him patiently.

"I will gladly take on the responsibility then." The doctor spoke, opening his door and shutting it behind him before Will had a chance to respond, though he was more in shock than anything at Hannibal's consistent worry of his physical and mental state, even if the latter was his job.

As he turned to open his own door Will finally noticed the scarf that was not his own currently wrapped around his neck, though after a moment Will chose to say nothing and simply enjoy the expensive silky feel of the material for a few moments more. He followed the doctors trail, who had waltzed into Wills house like it was his own, not that he minded, or would have minded if the place was not so thoroughly unkempt, although as the doctor had little distress over Wills state he couldn't have minded so much.

Only when he shut the door did Will realize how wrong he was, and though the doctor was not looking at all in his direction Will could feel the disapproval radiating off the other male at the space covered in clothing, dishes and patches of oil that seeped from the boat engine in the center of the room, furniture even shoved to the side to accommodate his project. The scarf around his neck immediately turned from silky smooth to scratching and uncomfortable at his neck with every move, Will quickly moving to return the article of clothing and finally drawing Hannibals attention as he struggled to remove the fabric and hand it back over. Winston curled up at his feet, the other dogs no doubt feeling the same vibe that Will was and most likely hiding within his room.

"Thank you…. for the scarf I mean, and the ride. I clearly wasn't expecting company." Will rambled in an attempt to sooth his own jittery nerves.

"Hm, it is no trouble Will." The male spoke, and clearly it was trouble. His eyes flared in what Will could see was anger, making Will bite back the urge to apologize. After all, it was Hannibals own fault for entering uninvited.

Hannibal walked over the piles of garbage to the couch, seating himself and looking incredibly though unsurprisingly out of place within Will's 'left to his own devices' space.

"B-but like I said, you really don't have to drive me around and feed me, I'm fine." Will finished, and though Hannibal did not respond his pointed gaze around the only visible room spoke volumes, shutting Will up before he could even think to continue.

"Will, I have no doubt that you can adequately care for yourself, I am far more concerned that you choose not to. Now, we will speak of this later, feed your pack and I shall make something for you. Assuming that you do not have any items, I have already gone to my kitchen to attain what I shall need."

"What? Wh-" Will gaped slightly

"Whilst you slept soundly in my car, now," Hannibal spoke as he rose, "I will return with the ingredients." And with that he resolutely walked back out the door, inhaling deeply Wills scent from his scarf as soon as he was out of site, grabbing the goods he had bought and prepared that morning for Will.

Will stared at the wood for the few seconds it took to gather the vocal cords that had fallen from his gaping maw, thinking for just a moment that he could always lock the door but he had high doubts that that would in any way deter the doctor, and so instead turned to obediently do as he was bid, the rest of the dogs crowding around him as soon as the doctor and the heavy atmosphere brought with him diminished, and once Hannibal returned, the dogs were far too concerned with their food to care about the new person around them.

Will watched them eat, an endeared look upon his face as the canines wolfed down their food. He doubted they could even taste its various meats and cheeses, the only gourmet that had ever been in the house before being scarfed down as quickly as possible, and the dogs heads shoved as far into their bowls as possible as they did so.

Looking up at Hannibal, Will watched with mild interest as he placed the bag of items down on his counter, the only clear spot to be seen, having obviously little use to Will who ate mostly packaged meals or take-out. But Hannibal it now seemed was in his own world, the world of food, and Will did not think he could comprehend what Hannibal would think of his own eating habits, causing a light snicker to emanate from the empath which did attract the chefs attention.

"Knives?" Hannibal asked gently, though he knew precisely where the items were, as this was far from his first look at Wills abode, though it had even then been considerably less of a mess, and Hannibal took the chance now afforded him as Will pointed to the drawer he was currently in front of.

"Thank you Will, although I realize how late it is and as such I would be indebted if you would allow me use of your home for the night." He spoke, back turned to allow Will slight privacy, having just resisted the urge to spat out the term to describe Wills shack. Focusing for a moment on dicing the pack of what looked to be ground beef, Hannibal tossed it in the untouched pans in the cupboard below Wills oven, only after a good rinse to remove the dust, followed by steaming a liver packed in plain brown paper. Once that was finished Hannibal sliced the liver and set it aside, adding amaranth leaves and cubing a slice of pumpkin to be added to the steaming dish. As the dish cooked together, he pulled out some herbs Will could not recognize, and starting to boil a pot of water which he then added the pasta into, while shredding the herbs by hand. He mixed the beef dish, added the liver on top to reheat it and sprinkled the herbs on top, adding spices in unmarked bottles without hesitation. To Will, it looked as though the man before him was conducting a symphony, moving in perfectly timed steps as he worked on the dish, calmly asking Will for plates, or silverware, which Will pointed to dutifully. In a flurry of movements Will had a dish set before him, "Bella notte", Hannibal supplied the name without Will even needing to ask, placing a fork and knife down for Will before moving away.

Hannibal sat in the other seat, a dish set before himself, each grabbing one of the pile of napkins on the table from various takeout restaurants before digging in. Or at least Will dug in, tasting one bite and realizing how long it had really been since he ate warm food, let alone freshly cooked, the takeout food usually cold by the time the restaurants reached his remote home. Will noticed half way through his dish he was clanging his fork against his bowl with each bite, hunched over to make the distance even less to cross, and he leaned back to see as he suspected, Hannibal watching him. But unlike he suspected, the look was one of endearment rather then disgust, as Hannibal watched him wolf down the food he had so carefully prepared, no doubt spices and flavours Will could not even taste due to his own haste. A true gourmet meal prepared for him that was disregarded, and yet Hannibal looked at him like he found the situation amusing, cute even, which caused Will to be more embarrassed than guilty.

"Its very good, thanks Hannibal." Will muttered, not having anything else to say.

"I'm glad you enjoy it Will," Hannibal teased, Wills slight blush getting darker amusing the doctor immensely before continuing honestly, "please, continue."

Will began to eat his meal at a more leisurely pace, still faster than Hannibal who was only two thirds through his dish when Will finished.

"There is a package of diced beef heart in the bag on the counter for your dogs Will." Hannibal attempted to ease Wills tenseness as he continued to eat his meal, savouring each bite, Wills head shoved into his trough to eat what his owner provided still residing in his mind as he chewed comfortably.

Will moved for the bag, much larger than just one beef heart, shaking a few out in each of the bowls for his dogs before putting the rest in the fridge quickly. He did not want Hannibal to see the piles of half eaten take-out containers taking up most of its contents.

Will then moved to the sink to do the dishes as he rarely did, searching a moment for some soap and placing it next to the sink before his wrist was grabbed gently. Hannibal put his own empty plate down and took Wills place at the sink, ignoring the protests Will made and handing the male a towel as he moved to do the dishes himself, the empath grumbling quietly next to him as he dried what Hannibal passed to him.


	3. Chapter 3

As Will dried the last plate and handed it over to Hannibal to put away, Will found the warm meal in his belly, odd a sensation as it was, to be quite calming, making him feel almost drugged. As he turned to gaze at Hannibal with wide eyes, mouth gaping and shutting in failed attempts at speech, Will could only muster a small, "You..." as his balance failed him and he was caught by his drugger.

"Calm Will, the sedative will take its full affect soon and you will rest." Hannibal spoke in a hushed tone as he effortlessly scooped Will up and carried him across the room like a newly-wed bride. "But before then, we should speak."

Wills drug addled brain was incapable of much thought, mostly keeping his attention on listening to what Hannibal said, clearly unable to respond in any fashion besides looking as far away from Hannibal as possible as the doctor set him upright on the couch, sitting next to him and turning Will's head to face him.

"Will..." He began, attempting to gain eye contact briefly before giving up the struggle. "I know you're angry, but it is in your best interest not to wander tonight. Also it allows me to be more straight-forward with you. Will." Hannibal tried to demand Will's attention again, the empaths eyes closing in protest, followed by the doctor sighing. "If you refuse to properly care for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, then I will do it for you."

Will openned his eyes to find a deep sanguine pair staring directly at him in a calm, self-assured manner. Will narrowed his eyes at the calm pair and attempted in vain to stare the man down, but Hannibal knew him too well and his eyes twitched and focused on the males tie mere moments into the struggle. He grumbled as near a growl as humanly possible as Hannibal ran his hand through Wills curls, holding the empath close in an uncomfortable hug, at least on Will's part, before lifting the male and moving to his room. The doctor removed the empaths shoes and socks, followed by his sweater and his buttoned shirt to leave him in his pants and loose wife-beater. Hannibal then moved back to the doorway, reaching for the light and turning back to say a quick, "Good night Will," before flicking it off and leaving down the hall. Will struggled to stay awake in the cocoon of darkness, his belly and bed full of warmth, though the latter was from the mass of dogs curling around him, but ten minutes later he was dead to the world.

Back in the living room Hannibal checked his watch, 11:30. Will would remain asleep for some time, most likely not awake before the sun rose, which would be strange for Will, and Hannibal felt a sense of pride at being able to provide him with such. He spent the next hour cleaning out the entire house, hauling the boat engine to the office that was never used, first rolling up the carpet before pushing the unused, cheap desk out the back door and into the shed that was in about as good shape as the desk and deemed the pair good riddance. He emptied the fridge of the mountains of take-out containers Will thought he hadn't seen, followed by the cupboards in the kitchen, two dead mice found in the corner of one.

This caused Hannibal to scrub down the entire structure to make certain Will wouldn't poison himself if he ever did try to make a meal for himself, revealing metal handles in need of a shining that he happily preformed as well. He vacuumed the living room carpet and when it became apparent the material was embedded with stains from the boat engine and god knows what else, Hannibal simply rolled it up and tossed it into the shed with the desk, replacing it with the one from the office that, while dusty, was relatively unstained. He swept the floors and wiped down all the appliances and took out the garbage before opening the clean fridge and tossing some of a particularly rude barista that had made jokes at his Will's expense into the dogs bowls, hearing them rush to eat them as Hannibal made his way into Will's room and shut the door behind him.

The man in question was sleeping soundly, shivering slightly as his dog-blanket abandoned him in favour of eating the heart of one who had spurned their master, the doctor moving quickly to wrap Will in a cheap blanket to calm the shivers. Hannibal moved silently around the room, lifting mounds of clothing and piling them into an empty box laying in a corner marked, PARTS in shakey writing. Once all Will's dirty cloths were compiled, Hannibal moved on to filling another garbage bag between Will's room and bathroom. He scrubbed clean the tiles, toilet, sink and shower quietly as to both listen to the males deep breaths and to not disturb Will, though the drugs prevented the possibility, and swept Will's floor, including under his bed where yet another mound of take-out containers were hid. Hannibal huffed in annoyance at the abundance of shitty food, only reinforcing his need to care for Will since the empath clearly had no intentions of doing so on his own, Hannibal narrowing his eyes at the man in question in both a promise and a threat.

Hannibal checked around the room once more, deciding against cleaning out Will's closet though he did look through the piles of information on various killers methods and intentions. Beneath that were old writings of Will's first cases ever, that which brought him into the FBI and Hannibal spent another hour just reading through every scrap of paper he could find with Will's observations, in the hopes of finding more information on Will himself encoded unconsciously into the writing. He placed them all back into their original spots when he was finished and turned to look over the sleeping figure in the bed. Will's hair was tuffed out to one side, splayed on his pillow as Will remained in the same position Hannibal had placed him hours ago, and Hannibal running his hands through the greasy lockes didn't even arise a twitch as Will slept soundly. Hannibal lifted Will's chin, leaning down over the empath to press his cheek against his empaths, slowly rubbing them together in a caninely show of affection before turning to place a light kiss on the spot and raising back up to turn and grab the box of clothing, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him before the dogs crowding his feet could return to take over Will's bedroom, a habit they would learn for the future.

He spent the next hour doing loads of laundry in a revolving manner, folding a load while another dried and a third was being washed. When he checked his watch again the time read, two twenty-nine, and after folding the last of Will's clothing and placing them in his room, Hannibal removed his own outer layers, including his tie, outer coat, vest and undoing the cuffs of his shirt, placing the cuff links on the, now dust free, side table before sitting on the couch to remove his shoes and socks. He turned to lie on his side, facing the couch, and heard the movements of a single dog, Winston, Hannibal could tell without looking the only one brave enough to walk straight up to the predator that fed him. After having his snout smacked fairly hard for snuffling at Hannibals shoes, the dog sat across the room, laying down and falling asleep with Hannibal, while the others remained crowded at Will's door for the entire night.

Will woke the next morning feeling better rested than ever before in his admittedly fractured memory, letting out a large yawn as he slowly raised up to stretch his back and feeling a satisfying pop in three spots down his spine before finally gaining the will to open his eyes. Will would have screamed in disappointment if he wasn't already used to such tricks from his own mind, and already anticipated waking up to find himself halfway up a tree or something equally uncomfortable, deciding to simply enjoy the moments of fake peace his mind afforded him.

He looked around again at the room, taking in the detail as though he was in another of his visions, this one of himself, and quirked an eyebrow at the box of folded laundry left by his dresser, clean and dusted like everything else in his room and sparkling bathroom. He made his way down the hall, dragging his bare feet on the swept stairs and into the living room, half expecting to find corpses hanging from the ceiling, the other half just feeling so out of place, but instead found another clean and dusted and swept room, with the study's rug vacuumed and laid out on the floor. On his couch there was draped a coat, not his coat, and on the side table a pair of shiny cuff links Will prodded before slowly pulling the coat up to his nose and breathing in a familiar scent.

"Will." Came gently from behind him.

Will's shoulders tensed as he turned, wary of what he may find behind him, only to see Hannibal, standing in a kitchen that both looked like his and yet was completely foreign to him, so clean and bright. Will was usually out of the house before the morning and he hadn't ever paid much attention to his kitchen anyways, but it was Hannibal before him, which made it somehow make sense in a way. Will finally took notice of the way his hands clutched the expensive jacket of the doctor, and, even when in a dream, he felt he might dirty the material in some way, so he tossed it forward and reached up to silently demand he wake up. Dream-Hannibal reached down to pick up his jacket, placing it on the chair next to them that was really shoved into the corner on top of the couch.

Suddenly Will remembered Hannibal driving him home, providing food, drugging him and putting him in his room in flashes, his resolve to wake himself greater than the comfort being provided by his vision, and Will clutched his hair harder, uncaring of the pain, beginning to whack away at his own skull.

He began mumbling again and again, even as he was forcefully detained, "Not-real-not-real-not-real..." until his vision swirled to much to be of any use.

Hannibal had spent the morning getting Will some breakfast and letting the dogs out just as he heard his empath rise from his bed. He had watched Will move sluggishly down the steps in what he assumed to be residual fatigue from the sedative he had slipped in Will's drink, proven wrong as his Will moved towards the couch in a daze, poking at his cuff links still on the side table, before reaching for his jacket. At first Will seemed unwilling to touch the material but curiosity outweighed prudence and Will raised the jacket to his nose to take in Hannibals scent. The man currently standing near the fridge was drawn in by the sight, but stopped himself from getting too close before breaking Will from his stupor gently.

"Will."

Shoulders tensed and Will clutched at his jacket in distress, destroying the material beyond repair in Hannibals eyes though he could care less as the suit had been thoroughly ruined by his standards with the amount of time spent on Will's grimy floors, his shoes also needing a good shining now, though he would most likely end up throwing them away as well. Will turned to look at him and his eyes went from terrified to confused and terrified, which was also a very cute look to Hannibal. He said nothing as Will looked down to notice his own death-grip, throwing away the jacket like it burned in his hands. Though Hannibal was not planning on keeping it, seeing the mess already beginning to form moved him forward to pick up the expensive rag and drape it over a nearby chair that had previously been shoved into a corner, half on top of the couch. It was only when he rose back up that Hannibal took notice of his Will clutching painfully at his own skull and reaching up to begin slamming the heel of his hand into his temple, mumbling to himself something even Hannibals ears could not pick up.

Wasting no time, Hannibal grabbed both the hand slamming away with all the force Will could muster, as well as the one still ripping at his curls, and Will in turn tried to continue his assault on himself. Will struggled in the doctor's grasp for a few moments before ramming his head forward to connect with Hannibals chest, feeling better the dizzier he got before his legs were swept out from under him and he found himself completely held down by the larger male. Hannibal remained high enough above Will while holding both wrists in one hand and keeping a tight grip on the empaths throat to keep him from damaging the back of his head as well, bruises already beginning to form on his temple. Hannibal waited until Wills vision stopped spinning and he was able to struggle again in Hannibal's grasp, before leaning over to force Will to look directly into his eyes, freely exuding his anger at his empaths actions.

Will shrunk back after mere seconds of narrowed eyes, as Hannibal expected, but every time he attempted to break the eye contact Hannibal would twist Will's skull until he was looking at him again. When Will closed his eyes Hannibal considered slicing the flesh off to force the empath to look directly at him, Will relying completely on Hannibal to wet his eyes and keep him from going blind, which he would do diligently to keep those green eyes bright. But he decided against it, especially as he saw Will's lips quivering in muffled speech. He leaned closer until his ear was pressed to the corner of Will's mouth, brushing their cheeks lightly as he passed and listenning carefully to the muddled words.

"...not-real-not-real-not-real-not-real..."


	4. Chapter 4

Hannibal rose back up, releasing his hold on his Will, though the empath didn't twitch, and moving into the kitchen to pull out a basin he then filled with cold water. He placed the basin out on the deck, rolled up his sleeves, and went back to bring Will out as well, placing his empath on an old rocking chair Hannibal had found in the shed that was in better shape than the building. He raised the basin and took one last look at Will's dazed looking face, before pouring the entire contents of it over Will. The male sputtered and squirmed for a few moments before his eyes widened and he launched himself forward, gasping deeply in the cool morning air.

Will looked around, finding himself on his porch and Hannibal in front of him. He saw his dogs running in the fields out of the corner of his eye and finally felt fully awake, running his hands through his wet hair before shaking it out, almost feeling like smiling despite the massive headache coming on. Hannibal waited patiently as Will came back to him, running his own hand through the mass of wet curls as Will shook them out. Will looked up at him and half-smiled as though waking from a particularly nice vision, and Hannibal gently lifted his arm, supporting it needlessly as he led Will back into the mans shack. Will came to a halt as he entered the room, fearing he had yet to wake and this was yet another layer of insanity he would have to learn to live with. But instead Hannibal dragged him into the kitchen, pushing him into a chair and removing a plate from the stove, a still warm dish of eggs over a sausage rice mixture. He sat across from Will with his own dish before speaking, and even then only in gentle, hushed tones.

"Calm Will, it is nine forty-five on a Wednesday morning, you are in your freshly cleaned home, and you are Will Graham." Hannibal struggled not to spit out the word 'home', it was somewhat a 'suitable' living arrangement at best for a short period of time in his opinion, and he would be cultivating a more fitting 'home' for his Will very soon.

"B-but I... You just..." Will ended in a heavy sigh, not even touching the meal made for him and cooling by the second.

"Eat, Will." Hannibal spoke, then turned his attention to his own meal and allowed Will the slight privacy as long as he continued chewing, by his own volition or no.

Will looked around his home, then realized his dream hadn't been a dream and Hannibal had really drugged him and, somehow even crazier a thought to him, cleaned his home. The thought alone was mind-bending, not to mention the fact that he had been experiencing a fairly good morning until he opened his eyes, which led Will inevitably to anger at Hannibal for ruining it with his need to control everything around him. About half way through his dish he slammed down his fork, demanding Hannibal's attention for a change, and when he was given it Will had only one thing to say.

"Get out."

Hannibal looked shocked for a moment, lowering his own fork infinitely more gently then Will had and wiping his mouth politely before speaking.

"Will-"

But he was cut off as Will slammed both hands down on the table, standing over the doctor.

"No, Hannibal, no 'Will'." Will mocked Hannibal's tone, uncaring as the male narrowed his eyes at Will's rude behaviour. "You don't get to drug people and act like a fucking slave-owner. You asked to make use of my home, you did, now you can leave."

With that Will turned to make his way back to his bedroom, not looking to check if Hannibal had complied with the demand but by the time he was showered and dressed for work, his dogs bowls were full and the rooms were empty.

The plates had been cleaned and put away apparently, as they were nowhere to be seen, and it was only as he walked outside to find Hannibal sitting in his car in Will's driveway that Will remembered Hannibal had driven him home the previous night, the reason why he had needed the use of Will's home in the first place. The empath sighed, feeling like an asshole even though he wasn't in any way wrong in what he said, though Hannibal had always wormed his way in too close, something that was disconcerting to Will but that he understood nonetheless as an aspect of Hannibal's friendship with him. As he let the rush of dogs back into the house for the day he felt bad, like they would ruin the doctors unwanted and unasked for work, but he figured it to be fair as he walked up to the rolled up drivers window, it scrolling down as he approached with another sigh.

"Will." Hannibal greeted as calm as ever, making Will feel like even more of an asshole.

"I can get a cab you know, you don't have to-" But this time Will was cut off.

"And leave you in the hands of another? I am disappointed, Will, that you think so little of me." Hannibal replied in a mock of himself, allowing a quick smile and feeling far warmer in his heated car the moment his Will smiled awkwardly back, having recognized that he had pushed the man too far.

Will sat in the passenger seat and avoided looking in the doctor's direction as the man drove, slowly relaxing in the heated seats. But it was only after Will began to get comfortable, body finally un-tensed, that Hannibal instantly raised Wills hackles once more by speaking again.

"I am sorry to have intruded upon your privacy Will, I thought you might prefer another starting you with a clean space rather then being forced to do so yourself." Even as he attempted to re-cement his place in Will's good standing he remained clear that Will would have a clean house and good food and hopefully good company from himself while living 'well'.

"Chu.. that's condescending Hannibal, and you have no authority to force me to do anything."

"Perhaps if you lived a healthy life-style I would not be forced to impose one on you." Hannibal pressed.

"Perhaps you should mind your own damn business then." Will huffed, turning to glare at the man calmly driving as the pair bickered.

Hannibal briefly turned to look at Will as they stopped at a red light, "You are my business," he spoke confidently, without a moments hesitation.

Will snorted lightly, looking forward with Hannibal as they continued to drive. "Its your job to keep me from killing myself or others when I'm in my vision state."

"Yes," Hannibal agreed easily, "I get paid by agent Crawford to keep your mental state grounded, and I can do so with our weekly sessions. However, it is my duty and obligation as your friend to keep you emotionally and physically grounded, which in turn will keep you from 'killing yourself or others when in your vision state'." Hannibal turned down another road, ignoring the gaping maw of his Will, no matter how cute the sight, as he had seen it enough to be able to visualize it. In fact, some of his best sketches of Will was in that particular pose, face aghast, eyes wide, lips pursing in open mouthed pouts and upwardly quirked lips telling of the empath's amusement.

When the pair reached Hannibal's house Will had wanted to remain in the car but Hannibal's near threatening movement towards forcing him inside had Will moving willingly, grumbling behind the other. He felt his shoes were far too muddy for such an abode and so remained in the entryway until Hannibal placed a hand on his back and led him forward, muddy shoes and all, into his pristine kitchen that Will had no business ever entering. He was offered a seat, then a glass of water and an orange from the fruit-bowl, Hannibal placing a hand on Will's shoulder and leaning over to quietly hum, "I'll return in a moment."

Then Will was left alone as Hannibal disappeared up the stairs and when he returned a few minutes later, he was combed, shaved, and in an entirely new outfit, the other being tossed into the garbage along with the scuffed Italian leather shoes, a new shiny pair upon his feet.

"Shall we?" Hannibal offered Will a hand, gripping his wrist lightly when Will did not take it and leading the empath back to his car, his Will following easily behind with the orange tucked into the mans pocket.

By the time they reached Hannibal's office it was well past 10:00, not that Crawford could be too pissed as neither he nor Hannibal had received any phone calls from the man in question yet. Will stepped out and moved to his own vehicle, waving back when Hannibal held a hand up to say goodbye and didn't think about the situation for the rest of the day. His focus was on his classes and old case files on the oddly quiet day, as well as avoiding Crawford by doing so in the lab, Katz hiding him behind a table from the man when he came storming in and grumbled about minor cases that held little interest to the hidden empath. Will got out of class by four, was on the road and near home by five, just missing the mass of rush hour vehicles crowding behind him. He turned down his driveway feeling almost as good as he had that morning, before a familiar feeling sunk in his stomach as he saw Hannibal's vehicle parked before him. Will was surprised to find Hannibal seated on his deck, swinging in the very same rocker chair on which he had dosed the consciously-challenged male with water just that morning, standing as Will nervously turned off his car, stepped out and walked up to the doctor.

"I hope you don't mind my dropping by Will, I had brought food and company if you'll oblige me?" Hannibal presented, knowing his empath would not refuse him after waiting for the man to return and offering another home cooked meal and, just in case, his favourite brandy.

Will gazed at the gifts, a bag of groceries and a happy as one could get Hannibal Lector standing on his doorstep, having waited his arrival for who knows how long, and yet not entering the clearly unlocked house to show respect for Will's space after having blatantly disregarded it. Will could not refuse him in that moment, pushing at the slightly open door and reaching out his arm in an invitation gratefully accepted. Will was dined and given a bottle of his favourite brandy, only accepting on the condition Hannibal give his word, the most important thing to the man, to not put anything else in his food ever again, Hannibal accepting far too easily for Will's liking. After a good amount was drunk by his Will, Hannibal moved them to the couch, sitting close to the empath as he spoke.

"You are an amazing creature Will, and I will make certain you exceed any and all potential you have, all you need do is trust me Will, follow me." Hannibal leaned in to press a light kiss to his sleepy empath's temple, "Sweet dreams, my Will."

With that Hannibal left the drunk man half asleep on the couch, sure to wake with a sore neck but with another night of hopefully keeping Will grounded in a row under his belt, a habit in the making. Hannibal made sure his emapth's canine companions were well fed before walking out the mans door and driving back into Baltimore with a smirk plastered on his lips, making all the necessary preparations in his head.

'I will take care of everything.' He mentally reaffirmed as he turned into his own driveway. 


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Will awoke in the normal manner, in pain. This time it was from slouching back over the couch, his neck creaking painfully as he sat forward. He looked around and checked the driveway before confirming Hannibal was indeed gone, sighing in relief at not finding anything insanely out of the, grantedly also insane, ordinary. Then he looked in the fridge. Packed with food Will could not recognize that he was sure wasn't there the day before. Will simply guffed in annoyance and shut the door a little harder than necessary, trudging back to put on another clean outfit and get ready for another, blearingly normal day. Will had almost wished a mass murderer would pop out of the shadows of his mind, but every time he did all he would see is the Stag, sitting on the edge of his vision, grazing in his classroom or in the halls of the academy as Will quickly passed. The creature never looked at him or acknowledged his presence but never left him alone either. At the same time he felt incredibly frightened, having no insanity to fog his mind leaving him with the reality of his situation, and no one to look into but himself. Crawford still hadn't called, nor had anyone on the team, so Will continued to check his phone as the day passed, and when he got home he moved to work on his boat engine, hiding in his back office space and away from Hannibal.

But that night Hannibal didn't show up unexpectedly, which was unexpected, and that night the sweats did return, Will shaking in his bed as he twisted and turned for hours. Visions began to swirl in his eye-line, and though Will could not see the Stag he knew it was near, hiding in the shadows. It was four in the morning by the time Will finally fell into a restless sleep, still not bad for his standards but due mostly to the rest of the brandy bottle he had drunk.

 _He was running again. This time not in the woods but in a field of bloody pools and mangled bodies splayed out in awkward poses. He placed his hand on the wooden fence in front of him and jumped over heads of people Will didn't know but seemed familiar that were shoved on the posts every few feet, one unfamiliar empty males skull right next to his hand. Will didn't look back when he heard the splintering of the wooden fence, and he didn't look back when the sound suddenly fell into silence, nor did he stop running. His bare feet slipped every so often, especially when running up the tiny hills plastering the landscape, but his breath soon fell short and he along with it. He attempted to avoid the bodies laying literally all around him, and found a bloody puddle to kneel in instead as he looked for the beast. The panting puff of visible air next to his ear answered the query for him, and Will reached up in a fit of anger to shove away the beast constantly encroaching in his space, both mentally and physically, fully aware of the fact that the bodies around him, with the thick holes in their dead flesh, were caused by the very antlers he now pushed away from him._

 _"Please," He sobbed as he turned to continue shoving the creature back, "just leave me alone."_

 _He was met with no resistance, the creature that stalked his every move and led his nightmares easily falling wherever Will shoved its great rack, the cause of the destruction all around them, and only keeping enough pressure so as to keep Will standing but still leaning on it. Will refused to let go, feeling the thick spines ending in sharp tips, blood covering them all, and the Stag refused to fight back, leaving the pair in a type of limbo with each party waiting for the other to act. Finally, the Stag broke the parlay to tilt its jaw forward, snuffling gently at Wills chest without moving a step. Will jumped back at the action, at first thinking the creature was attempting to eat him, but tripped over a limb and suddenly the beast was eye level, once again cradling Will in its rack as it gazed into his eyes. It reached forward to almost nibble at the curls hanging down over his ears, as well as a deer could do so, and in the shock Will laughed, actually laughed, at the warm air bursting into his ear, only then realizing how cold he actually was._

 _The Stag leaned down to gently tug at the cuff of his jacket, and Will again felt as nervous as he felt in his classroom. Will briefly wondered where his actual body was this time as he rose up and followed the creature leading him further across the field, burrowing his face in the warm coat of fur and closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in front of a cavern. A large dark cavern that burrowed downwards until he couldn't see anymore. Will backed away from the Stag but it turned over to tug at his wrist again, Will yanking his hand away and backing a clear distance away from the hole. The Stag looked down at Will as he sat in the darkening field, then over to the cavern, and back again, But Will would not budge. He didn't want to know what was waiting for him. It repeated the actions several times before stepping over to the weary Will and dropping its great body down next to his on the dirty floor, curling in as close to him as possible before laying it's head down carefully in his lap to avoid spearing him with its antlers. Wills hands shot up when the beasts head came near, and he was left with little choice than to lie back on the creature or have his chest impaled by its antlers, the creature moving quickly as to ensure Wills cooperation. He ended up with crossed arms under a rack of antlers with a breathing skull laid across his thighs, and tried not to move himself whenever he heard and kept watch for the shadows around them, moving in the darkness. Will heard the voice of Hobb's whispering, "See" over and over, but when the voice got too close the creatures head raised from Will's lap to look off into the distance, the noise immediately ceasing in the fields but still ringing in his skull as he distracted himself with the steady heartbeat of the beast._

 _Will sat in what felt like the embrace of the Stag for the rest of the night before falling into a small sleep, waking up from his light dozing to find himself alone in the field, the sun just barely rising over the horizon and as soon as he opened his eyes the voices and visions of his own victims came to stand over him, screaming in unison their various grievances as he squirmed beneath them, hands over his ears to block out the noise. Behind him a massive crowd of visionary victims called from the dead bodies strewn around the area, as far as the eye could see, and in front of him, in the shadows of the cavern, stood the Stag, gazing calmly at Will's writhing body, surrounded by its victims. Will was confused and angry, as it seemed the Stag had both the ability to make the voices leave or leave Will to them, but in the moment chose to watch him be tortured by his own mind, letting out a scream as the voices built to unrealistic heights._

Will shot up in the fields surrounding his house, seeing the small shack off in the distance, shaking and gasping in his sweat drenched clothing. He checked his feet and was grateful for having been wearing shoes the previous night. The empath stood on jelly filled legs, slowly beginning his trudge back home and tried to ignore the feeling as he scratched the crawling bugs from his hair, not wanting to think on the perfect analogy for what was happening beneath his skull as well. That day Crawford called as well. Will was soon called to another crime scene, this time a beheading that made his skin ripple as it was an eyeless black mans skull on a post, thick, clean dreadlocks hanging over wooden boards.

When he fell into his vision state, he was back in a field of bodies, like the killer had been, walking up to the post and pulling a severed head from the bag slung over his shoulder. The place is quiet for a moment, but he knows in mere moments another car or walking couple will come around the bend so he moves fast and silently. He carries a stick, thick enough to gouge out the base of the severed heads neck, but has emptied its contents long before coming here, before shoving it down on the stuck out post. There should be more, all lined up in a row, but this is all he has time for now and so uses the stick to slam down on the head like its a whack-a-mole game, getting a little too carried away but once it is in place he steps back, wipes down his stick, picks up his bag and walks away. As he looks back at his handy work he smirks before looking right at Will, Will can even see his eyes and descending into flashes of painful half-memories of death and things even worse. The man, in Wills image yet not unlike a fun-house mirror, opens his mouth and, though he says nothing, Will can here the words spoken in a phantom echo of his own voice saying,

 _This is my design._

Will vomited when he was free and clear of the scene, having difficulty calming his body from the tremors still reverberating around in his skull.

"Will!" Crawford ran up to him once he was noticed, patting Will on the back twice before dragging him away from the scene to get his information, pad and pen already out. "So, anything?"

Will spat out, clearing his throat before finally turning to face his superior. "Your looking for a garbage picker, not by profession or trade but by his own ideology. He likes the idea of cleaning up, the mask, the game, and..." Will's face scrunched.

"What?" Crawford was ready, not even looking at Will as he penned down the information.

"He's doing this to screw with us, with me."

"With you? How'd he know you'd be here?" Crawford narrowed his eyes in suspicion, also not an uncommon occurrence in Will's 'regular' life.

"I don't know, but he did, and he uses one of those red pickers like inmates use."

"Why would he? Gotta be more recognizable." Crawford murmured, writing down all the possibilities.

"To hide the blood, the pickers the murder weapon, hammered the head down with the end. He's mocking prison and police by using an inmates stick, like he's forced to pick up where we stop. He'll be hard to catch, this isn't his first and he's got many plans for the others."

Crawford grimaced as he wrote, Will finding an odd pleasure in dragging a man like Crawford somewhat down with him. He nodded when Crawford asked, "Others?"

"He knows how to stay hidden, we're on a public highway and the park is a block away, he knew people would be passing here and was in and out before they came. He's presenting a message but I don't know what," Will interjected, anticipating the question, "but he knows about law enforcement, intimately."

"An inmate probably." Crawford began a tangent of thought completely off base, but all Will replied with was an unbelieving, "Maybe."

When he was finished Crawford offered to drop Will off at Hannibal's for their weekly meeting but Will declined and claimed to need to finish up some work at the academy, quickly leaving and driving home before his non-therapist/forced-friend learned of the deception. As Will walked into the house his cellphone rang, Will shoving it into the couch cushions before moving to fill his dogs bowls with food, and tossing a few beef heart chunks on top. Now that the dogs were happy, Will moved to the study-turned-work-space, and worked silently on his engine. Will worked well into the night, his dogs slowly coming to crowd around him as he did so, and Will had always been grateful to his pack for the warning system they provided, especially now, because just as Will felt someone or something tingling the hairs on the back of his neck, his dogs went wild, shouting into the darkness and all rushing towards the front door. Will felt a slight vulnerability he had never felt before in an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and rushed slightly to the sound of his protection squad, the sound slowly dieing, which was even worse than the barking in Will's opinion, his gun out and ready.

He prayed for a moment that he hadn't fallen asleep, reaching a quivering hand forward to grasp the door hand, a figure's shadow visable on the porch, unmoving in the dark. Will gulped, looking down at his dogs, Winston in particular, whose tail was wagging and Will's mood turned from frightened to peeved in two seconds, opening the door fully and standing strong as he awaited the lecture, reluctantly putting the gun back in the holster he had yet to take off. Hannibal stepped from the shadows, a bag in hand and a glare directed towards Will.

"I was worried, Will. You didn't return my phone calls." Hannibal stepped closer in an attempt at intimidation, but Will stood firmly in the doorway.

"I got caught up with the engine." Will betrayed not a hint of the crazy already building up inside him, only squashed with liquor or drugs apparently.

"Hmm..." Hannibal clearly didn't believe him, so Will narrowed his eyes despite knowingly lying and Hannibal relented, at least in appearance. "Well, I apologize for interrupting you then. I brought a gift and was hoping to preform our session for the week, but if you're busy, then I would not disturb you further. Goodnight Will."

Hannibal set down the bottle before he turned to begin walking back to his car, and Will felt like the largest jackass in the world, the man clearly driving for hours just to make certain Will was okay and, anticipating Will's heated attitude the male even thought to bring a gift. Will knowing what Hannibal was doing was only serving to make the gesture more noble, and really, what else did he expect from Hannibal Lector, the man out of history.

"Doctor! Hannibal, wait!" Will called, running after Hannibal and grasping at the wrist of the doctors jacket, effectively stopping the male. "I'm sorry I missed our session, truth is I haven't had the best few nights, you know." Will spoke, scratching at the back of his head with his other hand, turning around and pulling Hannibal unconsciously by the mans wrist into his home and even then letting go only to remove the mans coat and offer a drink of his gifted wine.


	6. Chapter 6

Though Will did not know much of anything about wine he had no doubt it would be atrociously expensive and far too fancy if he ever let Hannibal describe it, avoiding the topic by pushing Hannibal to a chair and forcing the man to allow him, for once, to get something.

Hannibal, on the other hand, was quite pleased with how quickly his Will fell apart in his absence, something he was certain Will would begin to notice soon, as well as the unconscious act of gripping at his wrist in an unveiled, if unconscious, show of trust by the empath. And so, Hannibal allowed Will to take his coat and busy away in the kitchen as he basked in the pampering, the atmosphere quite pleasantly domestic in his opinion and something Hannibal could get used to. His eyes flicked back to reality as Will's arm came into view, passing him a twenty dollar glass filled with his 2005 Bodegas Roda Cirsion, Hannibal tilting his lips in a warm smile saved solely for his Will, before taking a sip and feeling a tickling in his chest as the other man chugged half the glass down in nervousness. Hannibal had missed the unconscious actions of his empath, even in the short time apart, and Hannibal took another quick sip, uncharacteristically quickly, to hide his own smile before he began, as it was clear Will had no intentions to do so himself.

"So, Will, how have the last few days been?" Hannibal asked though he could see the answer in Will's sunken eyes.

"Uhnmm, for the most part fine. Just the last couple of days I couldn't sleep and when I did i-it was just h-. It was insanity, like actual insanity surrounding me."

Hannibal leaned forward, placing his glass down on the side-table and focusing on his Will, who seemed like he was bursting with the need to get out of his own head in any way possible. "Go on Will, what happened."

Will sighed before beginning, "There was so much blood-" he chocked at the slickness he could still feel, "I was in a field, and I was running, but the Stag was behind me and I-I just, I just ran. But it just follows me and then Hobbs was there and all these people were screaming at me, but I couldn't have saved them, I t-tried but I-I-I just c-couldn't..." Will sobbed lightly, feeling his mind dragging him back into that scene of helplessness, crying out for unanswered aid, but he was snapped out of it to the sight of Hannibal's fingers resting on his necks pulse.

Hannibal raised his handkerchief, Will taking it and scrubbing at his running nose, gulping down the rest of his wine and then following it down with the glass Hannibal offered him as well.

Hannibal stood to grab the bottle and filled both their glasses, Will's more-so, before retaking his seat. The chair had thick arms, and a high back. It was soft enough despite the wear and Hannibal had to lean over it to actually face Will, but he would not turn it, having learned where his Will drew the line. He sipped at the wine in a far slower motion than Will and savoured its taste as the man ceased panicking.

"You could not have stopped it Will," Hannibal spoke lightly, conciliatory, "You said yourself you couldn't have, they were gone by the time you got there. You say you saw Hobbs, but who were the other people Will?"

"I... don't know, I didn't see their faces, they just screamed."

"And What else Will?" Hannibal encouraged.

Will thought for a moment, the head on the post, the head on the fence. He didn't recognize the face at the time but now he did, and it was the very same severed head he was called to the next day. He had woken up in a field and Will finally wondered for a moment where his body had wandered that night. Had he really gone over the edge and killed someone? But the scene had been so calculated, so personal, and Will suddenly realized, the blood draining from his face.

"The Ripper."

"The Ripper? What about him Will?" Hannibal leaned further, asking in a perfect image of a confused outsider while internally watching with such pride as his Will's broken mind fixed together the pieces Hannibal had left for him, waiting in earnest anticipation for what Will would say next.

Will noticed none of this with his eyes blurred over in thought as a night unremembered was slowly piecing itself together using the clues left in his dreams, his nightmares.

"He... he's the murderer. He stuck that guys head on a fence post and I knew...I-I saw it." Will shuddered in fear, Hannibal in pleasure, and the doctor moved closer to calm the babbling male.

"You think the Ripper is involved? Its not his classic MO and yes, agent Crawford has already informed me the basics of your latest case when I called him about you missing our appointment." Hannibal joked with the younger male to lighten the mood before Will delved too deep into this man, who was indeed familiar with Will, himself, and Will's dogs as a delicious meal.

"It was him."

Will had never ordered from the Barista, Hannibal had. He had never known of the egregious offense of the pig insulting him, but Will had seen the man when he called for Will's drink, and, for a moment, made eye contact. It had actually just been luck, as well as some half-planning, to find Will outside, wandering in a field while completely asleep. He had lifted the male into his car, and drove to the highway. He had his black garbage pickers uniform on, grasped the red stick and pulled Will out by the wrist, his Will following easily to the fence where Hannibal pulled down the black baseball cap he wore just in case, pulling on a pair of gloves before picking out the barista's head from the garbage bag he towed and shoving it down onto the post as hard as he could. It went in easily enough, Hannibal having carved out the innards for a nice cream sauce days before-hand, but wasn't far enough for his liking so Hannibal swung the flatter head of the stick against the empty-skulled criminals own until it was stuck on well. He then brought Will back to his shack and released him back into the field, pressing their foreheads together before Will was left and Hannibal returned home for the little nights sleep he would get that night.

But Will had absorbed enough and Hannibal figured it best to stir the mans genius before he got too far. Will's non-therapist reached forward to pat his cheek, Will only then noticing how close the other had gotten which was something he usually took note of right away but chalked it up to the wine in his system.

Will laughed as he came to another conclusion, "Every-time you come over I get drugged or drunk."

Hannibal smirked lightly at that, "Would you not consider alcohol a drug?"

"Not really helping your case." Will laughed again.

"I suppose not, but I would consider that every-night when I have drunk with you, I have not seen you wander when asleep."

Will thought about it for a moment, before dramatically shaking his head. "Doubt it, I'm drunk most nights, not to brag." He grinned at that, snapping non-existent suspenders, and realizing how much the light liquor had gotten to him, not even remembering finishing his third glass.

"Well," Hannibal smiled back in an innocent way, "perhaps it is the company then." He suggested lightly.

Will thought about that for a long time, and when Hannibal moved to leave ten minutes later, Will nearly stopped him, afraid of what he might do alone when he realized that Hannibal was right, as usual. But more importantly than that, Hannibal was able to ground him without him even having realized it was happening and the doctor knew it too, he was sure. 


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning he texted Hannibal to talk about the case. Hannibal brought food and the pair talked about the Rippers involvement in this newest murder, attempting to 'reveal' parts of Will's memory. While Will's hypnotized mind did recall a profile Will could trace back to him easily, Hannibal did not feel the conscious Will would need such information and gave what he saw fit to give, in full confidence that his Will would not seek another out for such a delicate procedure as hypnotism. A dark figure, antlers protruding from its head and snarling. The empath correctly assumed the snarling to be car wheels rolling but the figure was a common one to Will and one he was unable to decipher yet.

They spoke about the victim and how he might have been chosen, but Hannibal was very good at covering his tracks, having been so used to the hunt, and so they found very little in the way of enemies or footage. Will did, however, point out the town as one they had been to before and that therefore may be the link between the Ripper and this coffee Barista. Hannibal had been sure in the process to remove the mans eyes, because eyes spoke to Will in a way he couldn't always predict. But Will was now staring at photographs, directly into the males gaze to try and trigger his own mind, the pair getting nowhere beyond Will's unnerving hunch that he had seen those blue eyes before. When Hannibal leaned the conversation towards his leaving for other patients, Will offered another cup of tea, and then a sandwich to the man, which Hannibal declined with a polite smile before he left.

Will had made himself a peanut butter sandwich just to feel less like he was attempting to keep Hannibal around him longer, but after taking a single bite he realized how not-hungry he was and tossed it to his dogs. Will had immediately felt as though the Stag was now watching in Hannibal's absence, and Will admitted to himself for the first time he missed the mans constant presence in his life, if only for the feeling that at least he wouldn't go out and murder people with Hannibal around.

Will spent most of that night awake, writhing in his bed. When he did finally manage to fall asleep he woke up not an hour later to find himself on the edge of the roof. Climbing back in the empath diligently checked his entire memory of the night, going through Hannibal's mantra of time, place, and self before deciding to work on the, near finished, engine instead.

The next two days Will left Hannibal to his own work as he spiraled internally, and Hannibal did not show up on his porch. He had finished the engine and was now pacing around the rooms, dogs following in his circles as he occasionally looked through a window to see if he had just missed the man knocking.

This was a high possibility as late the night before Will had actually had dreams of his home down to the stains and he couldn't be certain if he was in fact hallucinating or sleeping. The space had been covered in blood and returned back to its pre-cleaned state, with the important addition of the blood and bodies hanging from the ceiling. Some had just been hanged, some gutted out with their entrails in a pile on the floor, but the other ones scared Will the most. Hobbs. In every room, around every corner he turned the man was staring at him through dimming, but never fully dying eyes. His body was always in a new position of torture, often mounted on a deer rack, but always alive, with blood gushing and his lips trembling as he brokenly spoke, _"see"_ over and over, beginning low but getting gradually louder. The sound seemed to slowly awaken other bodies as well, who began to stir as Will passed their mangled corpses.

He had looked out a window for escape but the field with the broken fence was one he recognized and Will had refused to move outside once he realized the Stag would be and probably already was waiting for him. Instead Will had wondered around the house, and had gone to the basement for the back-up rum in the fridge that was still there before rushing back up when he noticed a table upon which lay a screaming man with his chest ripped open, the skin peeled back to reveal his squirming organs and, even worse, bloody tools left lying on a silver tray placed upon the mans exposed rib-cage. He had sat down on the blood-soaked couch, shoved in the corner with the chair still atop it next to his face, and took a large swig, assuming he was dreaming but after the last few nights he couldn't be sure so decided against killing himself for the moment at least. Instead he had tried to ignore the screams of now every body that inhabited the house, some for mercy, some for death and most just at him for his failure at saving them. Will tried in vain to focus on what Hannibal had said to him, as well as that feeling the doctor could instill in him over his own delusions of him perhaps being right, _'There was nothing I could have done.'_ He agreed, but Will couldn't help adding a _'...sorry.'_ at the end, still feeling the weight of the deaths and slowly drowning his sorrows away.

He had woken in his bed in the early afternoon, having no class and, after telling Crawford the man he was looking for was the Ripper as well as all the facts Hannibal and himself had discovered, went to make himself some food, the empty rum bottle rolling across the floor when it slipped from loose fingertips. He wouldn't normally do so, never really feeling hungry until the doctor showed up with food but he figured Hannibal might have stuck a head of lettuce somewhere which would not only soon go bad, if it wasn't already, but also the fact that he needed some kind of food in his system after drinking an entire bottle of rum in an already dazed state.

He was also in the mood to fish, so Will cut up a few vegetables and set them in a bowl before washing and cutting the lettuce leaves that weren't brown or mushy and tossed the rest out. As he the put a plate on top and put in in a corner so the dogs wouldn't hit it before leaving the house for a day of fishing, pole over his shoulder, his water pants on and his fishing cap securely on his head, he heard the screams. Rushing out the door only seemed to anger the voices of those he could not save and Will nearly sobbed as the torture wracked his skull, some begging him to help them, some cursing him, and some that he knew were there but simply said nothing. Closing his eyes only revealed the scene seen through open eyes awashed with blood and mangled bodies. He had only spent a few hours out, despite the amazing amount of fish for some reason, the screams following him. He had half hoped to find the doctors car on his arrival but shook his head and angrily marched to the door when he didn't, whistling for the dogs and heading to the kitchen to clean the fish.

Normally he would do so before returning, but that was because Winston normally followed him everywhere before the screaming, which only seemed to amplify in natures open spaces. For the past week the dog had been fairly solemn, still diligently following Will about but never straying to far from the house, calling for him when he did so until he returned. Will had found the action strange but thought nothing more of it, as Winston would still follow him miles away when he was hallucinating and so simply de-gutted the fishes and tossed a bit of guts into each dogs bowl, sprinkling a layer of food on top before the rush of animals stormed through the area and dived for their respective meals. Will laughed as he cooked the fish on a slightly dusty pan, still far better than it was before the doctor had cleaned them, but Will was just realizing how long it had been since Hannibal had invaded his privacy and cleaned his house for him, noticing himself now flicking at a shiny handle and once again shaking his head quickly to rid his brain of the man and focus on his cooking.

This also had him thinking back to Hannibal's talents in the kitchen and he could imagine the man sitting at the table as Will brought his own plate over, a Hannibal shaped figment of his imagination sitting across the table from him with its own fake dish, an exact replica of Wills. Fake-Hannibal rose his knife and fork, slicing off a piece of fish and forking a bit of salad with it, eating like a lord at a fine meal with other magistrates. The imaginative scene had real Will rolling his eyes as he watched the man eat the food with an irrational worry, which was squashed as fake-Hannibal looked to him with one of his light smiles and said simply, _"Incredible, my Will."_

This had real-Will really choking on his own bite, sputtering at his own minds conjurations as the smirking fake-Hannibal faded from view. Will decided that he was in fact going crazy with having such little contact with people, which was fine until Hannibal became near to his sole sense of outside world contact. That, of course, was also kind of insane since Hannibal himself was not the most grounded in reality person, at least from what Will knew of him, which was also very little. He was kind of astonished as he realized how little he knew of Hannibal compared to how much the man in question knew about him and, while Will realized that was the mans job, Hannibal had always called them good friends and close, so Will should know more about the man then. Will was once again stirred from his thoughts by the screaming from the other figments in his mind, starting back up as fake-Hannibal faded.

Will looked across the table and, for another flash of a moment, Will missed Hannibal's presence, but then quickly added _'really for his food'_ , which was so complex, having been worked on by a true master of the art. Will was usually consumed with its contents, not being one to care very much about taste beyond good or bad normally, so knowing what was in the dishes was fascinating if useless information to the empath. Despite that fact, Will was just learning how much it kept him zeroed in, shoving away his own dish and moving to grab his keys instead. He left for the junkyard in search of another boat engine, an empty belly easily ignored once Will gained a new project, handing over the engine he had fixed in exchange and refusing the money offered.

It was the closest he had come all day to relaxed, and while he felt he would have more space to work in the living room, he did not want to undermine Hannibal's work and so trudged to his new work-space. Will even wiped up the black fluid that dripped in a line from the front door to the work-space, which he normally would simply leave, adding that it was just in case Hannibal returned in his wake, saw the act as Will living 'unwell' and decided to re-drug him. He then realized the massive loophole he had left the man in not saying food and drink, just food, and Will thought about the fact that Hannibal would never put anything in his masterpieces, groaning as he realized it had been his drink. Will looked at his watch and noticed he had been sitting there thinking of Hannibal for over an hour. He looked up in exasperation, sighing before turning and heading for his engine in the hopes of a distraction from both his thoughts of Hannibal as well as the screaming he could still hear, muffled through the walls though they were.

When he reemerged the dogs had gotten to his abandoned dish, broken pieces of porcelain on the floor but nothing else was out of place, yet Will felt disturbed. He had done all he could do tonight on the engine mechanically, and now spent his time lazily cleaning out tubes caked with black sludge by the sink, washing out the tubes with his eyes closed as he leaned against the cupboards and hummed an organic tune. The screams had died down in frequency but were still there in the shadows, picking up the more Will felt his exhausted body reaching its limit of going without sleep and, as he came to sit against the cabinets instead, Will finally passed out into a world of nightmares.

 _Will was getting tired of waking up to find himself running at break-neck speed through another forest, dashing past a creek he knew well. He had often stopped at that very creek and sat on the overturned tree that he now leaped over to clean out the fish he would catch at the river connecting to the creek further north, but he was now getting used to seeing the areas that used to bring him calm now covered in blood, entrails and chopped off scattered body parts. Will dashed under a low hanging branch and swung around the base of a tree before leaping up into the branches and climbing as fast as he possibly could, gasping for air through his mouth as the scent of blood was overwhelming, and looking around the area below. As the hoof beats grew louder Will placed a hand over his mouth and tried to not gag as he breathed quietly through his nose, a massive rack coming into view below him. The creature sniffed around the area before standing perfectly still and gazing around slowly, attempting to spot the male it stalked, stamping its hooves a moment later in frustration and what Will could only imagine to be a demand for him to come out of hiding._

 _Will remained completely still, despite the growing cramps in his legs from his crouched position, and his breath's remained shallow as to not attract the beasts attention. Leaves piled on the ground shuffled lightly below him and as Will looked down he saw the Rippers human form, or at least the closest Will had ever been able to conjure of the creatures human form, along with a large rack of antlers spouting from its inky black skull. It had long arms with hands that curled down, walking not unlike a tyrannosaurus rex about the area. Occasionally it would reach out to shred a branch off or slash deep holes into a nearby tree, but mostly it just moved around in a calm fashion. Will was near to crying his legs were cramping so badly, and, as he shifted them in a bout of pain so intense he could not handle it he gasped, looking down to come face to tar-blackened face with the creature that constantly haunted his every move._

 _Will shuddered, hand still over his mouth, and made a move back but the creature followed at insane speeds and in the time it took Will to transfer from one branch to another he looked up to find the creature now sitting an inch before him, head tilted and glowing red eyes staring intently at him as it followed Will leaning back. Will leaned back further the closer the creature got and jumped as the thing reached its claws out to him, falling back off the branch and letting out a yelp as he crashed through the tree-tops. He clutched his eyes shut as he broke through the leaves and thick branches before he gasped as he was caught before hitting the ground, refusing to open his eyes as he knew precisely what was clutching at him. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a low gurgling, hissing near his face, followed by a cheek rubbing against his own and the sound of shuffling leaves as the the creature left the area with him in tow._

 _Will sobbed as he tried in vain to escape the creatures clutches, twisting back and forth in the things iron tight grip, the creature not seeming to care as it held fast through the struggles and continued its trek. Will heard the wooden boards of the broken fence get crushed beneath the creatures feet, and when Will finally opened his eyes he expected to find himself before or inside the cave but instead found himself being placed on the porch of his house, the thing having reverted to the Stag when he turned back around. Will looked into the eyes of the Stag, the creature staring back at him in a calm manner and seemingly waiting for Will for something. Will looked back at the house, but found himself unwilling to enter as he could already hear the screams from inside. The Stag stood, still and vigilant, awaiting for Wills movement, his only response sitting on the porch steps with a sigh, torn between two very different agents of mental chaos for him. Somehow, though he couldn't name it even within the confines of his own mind, Will knew exactly what would come to pass if he followed the Stag, who offered a clinical and meticulously planned outcome, an inevitability of sorts, while the voices he himself conjured were far more chaotic and hampering on his mind._

 _Will had always fallen back on the obvious, one was a mass murdering psychopath while the other was a duty agreed to in exchange for pulling creatures precisely like the Ripper out of their dens and into the cages they belonged in. It was an admittedly simplistic view of his work but was also the basic principle by which Will lived by and suffered through his entire adult life. It didn't matter what he himself suffered, in his mind, because he had never had people and relationships like normal people, and really had never genuinely wanted to. Then Crawford, and Katz and Alana and Hannibal had entered his life and Will was suddenly finding it harder and harder to cope with the never-ending torture his mind now put him through using their faces. Will resolutely looked up at the creature, who had slowly moved closer during Will's internal monologue, and once again reached up to shove to creature back by the antlers as hard as he could, before turning and marching into the house and into his own version of hell's embrace. He looked out the window as he sat upon his couch, seeing the Stag stomp lightly before glaring directly at him. It then turned and walked away without looking back._


	8. Chapter 8

Will spent the next week and a half in and out of vision states, avoiding sleep like a plague and causing the need for constant five second naps to keep himself from dropping into a coma. He had also reverted to his extremely antisocial ways, requiring Crawford himself to come to Will's house to get him when he was too far gone to even notice the phone ringing. While alone Will had tried his best not to sleep and when he did he remained inside the house, curled in a corner. The one time Will did move to go outside when the screams really got to him, wandering off into the woods to the river in search of fish as dark figments moved in the trees and rushed closer whenever he looked away.

Will had run back to the house only to find the bodies now lining every inch of his house and he was forced to sit on, walk over, and push through waves of flesh that all begged and cried and screamed in fury at him. When Crawford had finally dragged him from his nightmare, mostly due to the second slap across his face, Will was given a large cup of coffee though he could barely lift the steaming beverage to his quivering lips before being pushed into a crime scene, not noticing until the coffee was completely gone. When he did look around, he found himself alone in a bloody room, thinking for a moment he may be dreaming once again before shaking his sleep deprived brain and focusing on the clues around him.

There was someone in his space, Will knew it. He had seen a figure and it had been following him for weeks, around every corner. Will knew the man had followed him here as well, and it seemed no matter how hard he tried the stalker just kept following behind his every step. The man knew Will had pushed them off the bridge, the only witness to the 'crime'. Now that bastard wouldn't leave him alone and was just waiting for him to slip up, but he was smart and on this particular day he moved silently up behind his target, asking the man politely if he had the time. The man he sought always carried a bright silver watch with black clasps on his person. Sometimes they were a tall or short man, sometimes black or white or Asian, but always, always, always they had that watch. Will looked closely at the wrist of this man as he lifted it, bright, shiny and with black clasps. So he unwrapped the wire he always carried with him just in case and looped it around the mans neck, dragging him into the empty building he had made into a temporary base that he would now have to pack up, again, and tying the man by the neck wire to one of the many posts in the relatively open space.

The man scrambled around as Will searched his pockets, smashing his phone and attempting to rip open his briefcase before finding it locked. Will ran over to his bag to pull out the hand-held axe he kept clean and sharp, ironically using it to chop off the mans hand. Will placed the fingers to the pad and when it binged open he threw the appendage at the screaming male, ordering him to shut up. The man slowly quieted to sniffles and sobs as Will dug through the papers regarding insurance or some other facade. Will had also encountered this before and used the axe to slice through the leather of the briefcase and dig in its contents. When he didn't find what he wanted he turned to the male, who shuddered on weak knees, gulping around the wire as the axe was raised, blood dripping from its edge.

"Where is it." Will demanded, not really expecting the truth. They never told the truth.

"I-I... P-p-please I d-don't know w-what... AHHHHHHHH!" The man screamed again as Will swung down the axe and cleanly chopped off the other hand. "PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING PLEEEEASE!"

He shoved the flat side of the axe, covered in blood, against the screaming mans lips to quiet him, but he just screamed over and over again for someone to help him so Will lost his temper and began chopping away at any bit of flesh that was available. Once his temper calmed he pulled away, leaving a bloody, gasping, dying male without legs now being hung by the wire still wrapped firmly around his neck as blood gushed from the stubs where his arms and legs were once connected with his torso. Will checked diligently afterwords to make certain the male was dead, removing every single organ and going so far as to remove the whole skeleton with his bare hands before being satisfied. The victim eventually ended up just being a slab of skin when Will stepped back, wiping his hands and removing the mans watch before putting it into the case with all of the others, jingling them lightly with a smirk. He took one last look at the man before moving to clean himself up, picking up the small metal bar he had pried from the mans femur with his teeth to crush the device.

 _This is my design._

Will opened his eyes to find himself disturbingly close to what remained of the slab of skin, whining as he backed away and left the building, passing Katz and Zeller in the room where the killer had kept all his belongings without a word. Crawford had another cup of coffee for him, his pad out at the ready when Will walked outside, and Will described the disturbed, paranoid man hunting men with a item which he deemed to be a witness to the murder of someone close to the killer. The body, he explained, was mutilated to find some item, and when Katz added the victim had a metal implant they couldn't find, Will supplied the idea of some tracking device the killer thought was in the man, most likely also taken.

When Crawford got the information he set off, barking orders and slapping Will on the back as he left but not before grabbing a detective and loudly declaring that Will would be attending his weekly meeting with Hannibal that evening and that he was not to be left alone until that time. Will rolled his eyes as the detective followed far too closely behind him to the parking lot and even as he drove for Will's liking, considering Will had no strength to run in real life after having been doing so much of it in his dreams, the empath huffing out a laugh as he joked to himself.

Will spent that entire afternoon being watched and followed far too closely. At first he had chalked it up to the officer being completely duty bound and whatnot. He had met many such officers in his travels that were understandably concerned with his sanity, but the feeling he got from this particular officer was not of a friend or protector. It was that of a predator, he was certain, though Will had yet to fully look at the man, afraid of what he might convey as well as what he would see. It wasn't like this was an uncommon thing either, in fact Will had been used to such people surrounding him, as though he attracted the predators of the world and it wasn't that all these people were in any way bad people but the overpowering nature of some was too much for Will, especially as he just noticed how long it had been since he had been in the overbearing, uncomforting presence of a predator since Hannibal had entered his life, visions notwithstanding.

Will sighed yet again, feeling the detective shift and look at him from the edge of his desk, before the man returned to his paper. It was nearly five and Will was scheduled to meet Hannibal in an hour and a half, meaning they would have to leave in the next hour to make it across the city in time. Will glanced down at the stack of papers still to be signed and worked diligently on that as well as future lesson plans, filling in the last sheet before standing to move to his office. The detective immediately followed not 3 inches behind him, and Will was beginning to notice how overtly and unabashedly focused the detective was on him, an uncommon situation to Will. As he turned into the 'professors only' section of the building, Will turned to stop the man behind him from following, eyes remaining on the tiled floor as he spoke.

"Just wait a second, and I'll be back."

At first the man shook his head, but Will wasn't watching so the male then checked around him to see only office doors down the corridor and grabbed Wills wrist in a vice grip, clearly angry at being ordered by Will, and holding it tighter until Will finally flickered his gaze to the mans own for a fraction of a second.

"Two minutes." He said, then leaned against the door, shoving his foot in the base like a wedge to keep it open and allow him full view when Will walked down to his office and opened it up.

Will placed the papers down on his desk, leaving a note for the TA along with a lesson plan for the next class in case he didn't show up, which happened often enough for Will to plan around it months in advance. Feeling that the officer was a little too intense, as well as not exactly feeling like seeing Hannibal at the moment, as his non-therapist would immediately notice his current state mentally and physically, he decided to avoid both. So, with a glance back at his shut door, Will opened his window and crawled out onto the terrace that stretched around the top of the building and connected to the help center, walking back into the building and immediately jumping in an elevator. He could hear his bodyguard scream at him from down the hall where he had first entered, followed by thick boots crashing on the floor as the man ran but, just as the mans suited arm came into focus the doors fully shut, the sound of fists smashing against the doors making the empath flinch. Will jumped off on the second level, dashing down to the emergency exit that was taped open for the janitor crew to smoke and running out down the stairs into the parking lot.

Just as he sat in the drivers seat, he looked up to find the man running at his car and, as Will turned the vehicle to leave the detective leaped upon his hood and ordered him to stop, this being the first time Will actually saw the man fully. A suited male, hand on his gun and other hand outstretched to brace against Will's window. Sharp blue eyes narrowed in anger and thick golden hair billowed in the wind, lips pulled into a snarl that didn't fade even as Will placed the car into park, holding his hands up for the extra effect of surrender as well as mocking the detective detaining an FBI Agent-adjacent person like himself. The detective came around to open the passenger door and sat down with a huff, shutting the door and ordering Will forward.

"What about your car?" Will asked.

"Forget it." the man grumbled, making Will have to stifle a laugh as he drove before the mans anger came crashing down on him a moment later and ruined his good mood.

As the pair pulled up to Hannibal's office, Will twisted to wave goodbye at the man, offering to call him a cab. The detective in turn simply glared at Will, having watched him drive meticulously to make certain they would not be late, reaching over to pull out the keys before leaving the car and going over to the drivers side. The detective opened Will's door and grabbed his wrist in a vice grip before again tightening it when Will unconsciously attempted to pull his hand free, handing the keys back to Will on the way. The large male then dragged Will through the front door, essentially shoving him into a chair in the waiting room before standing in the corner, maintaining his glare towards Will without a word. Will curled in on himself slightly, feeling the anger and violence ebbing off the detective in waves, like the man really wanted to hit him, and it was this moment when Hannibal deigned to enter the room, ushering out another patient as he took in Will's presence while completely ignoring the officer.

When Hannibal returned Will had not moved, so the doctor knelt down next to the curled up male and whispered softly, "Will, please take a seat inside."

Will stood, following the doctors orders easily, and took a chair, sighing out in relaxation as his mind was suddenly freed from the emotions of the detective. Will reconsidered calling a cab and turned to present the idea to Hannibal but found himself alone in the room, the doctor having shut the door behind Will to speak to the detective alone. Will rolled his eyes at the laughable thought that the detective had any insight into Will's well-being or mental state. Hannibal must have realized it too as a moment later the doctor re-entered the room and Will could no longer see the police-man behind him.

"Now, Will, good evening. How have you been?" Hannibal jumped right in, either not noticing or not willing to say anything further regarding the detective, but Will was still curious.

"Fine, I guess. I drove that guy here though so..."

"I have called him a car, you need not concern yourself Will." Hannibal started, eyes narrowing as Will turned back around at the proximity the detective could so easily reach with his Will before noticing a marking on Will he had not yet seen before, his gaze flashing murderously.

Will rose his hand to scratch at his skull, the moments Hannibal had spent alone with the man far too short to have made a phone call, before figuring he was overthinking it and left the detective-focused thoughts to focus more on Hannibal. The man that Will just noticed had not moved from his spot, narrowed eyes trained on him, more specifically his exposed wrist where a bruise was beginning to form from the detectives vice grip in lines Will only just saw.

"What happened to your wrist Will." Hannibal demanded in a dark voice, and Will felt the anger bearing down on him yet again.

Will sighed to mentally shake Hannibal's anger out of his system, a far easier feat with the doctor than the detective, before he answered. "Went to swap out for a new-old engine and I fell over with it."

Will wasn't sure why he lied, perhaps to protect the detective, or himself from Hannibal's wrath, perhaps just to keep Hannibal from digging further in and most likely just as an automatic reaction, but Will refused to look at Hannibal as he described having to drag the engine into his office and falling over with it. Hannibal smiled lightly at that, the way his Will was so easy to read yet hidden in plain sight much like himself, going to his desk to pull out a emergency kit and some cream he then applied to Will's wrist.

"You must be more careful, Will." Was all he said as Hannibal wrapped up Will's wrist in unnecessary gauze, keeping his own annoyance in check at Will's protection, be it conscious or not, of the detective.


	9. Chapter 9

Hannibal carefully kept his mask in place, feeling his anger peaking at the pig who dared harm his Will, growing behind the light smile he kept up for appearances though it was slightly useless as Will was not looking at him. Hannibal could clearly see the lined patterns in the bruising and he, being a doctor, knew very well the cause, having seen it innumerable times before. Someone, that someone being a detective P. Rishe, had grabbed his Will violently before he dragged the empath around and thus, the man was put on his shortlist of next entree's. When Will's wrist was fully wrapped he held the other one gently, as though conveying the proper method of getting Will's attention, and Hannibal led the man easily to his desk where he put back the kit before having the empath sit in his chair. Will was clearly uncomfortable, twisting to find a better spot on the plush seat as Hannibal left to grab Will a small glass of brandy, followed by a book off the shelf, and he placed both before Will.

He looked grateful for the brandy, gazing at the untitled cover before Hannibal came around to look over Will's shoulder as he flicked open the cover to the title page, Universidad de Salamanca. Will looked up at Hannibal briefly, the man sipping at a pre-poured glass of wine before he spoke.

"The University of Salamanca in Spain, founded 1134 AD. It is one of the oldest recognized Universities in history, and very few of these texts remain." Hannibal sipped at the glass once more to hide his smile as Will pulled his hands away from the book in fear he would destroy the rare artifact Hannibal kept on his shelf. "This book in particular is quite rare, as it depicts the first notations of what would later become the basic medical texts used to make medicinal practices and studies a world-wide standard."

Hannibal placed his glass down and leaned over Will so their faces were right next to each other, gently turning the pages to a certain section and presenting the page to his Will who could not read the writing but could see the picture. It had been drawn directly onto the page nearly a thousand years prior, the printing press not being invented for another 300 years, and so was faded considerably from when first created, but still depicted the clear drawing of a man being hung, a thick rope noosed tightly to the flesh of his neck. Hannibal kept his finger on the corner of the page, his face still next to Will's, essentially forcing the man to look for several moments before Hannibal decided to finally turn to the next. Another drawing was on the next page, this one of the same male but only from the chest up, depicting with great accuracy the bruises wrapped around the mans neck in clear view of a rope. It was, what seemed like only days after his death by Hannibal's comparison of the two pictures. Will narrowed his eyes at the page, attempting to read it at first and quickly giving up even trying to understand the words, simply waiting for Hannibal to tell him the point.

"You see Will?" Hannibal pointed at the necks bruise, following the pattern of rope that was laid out next to the body.

"These physicians, unknown to time, were the first to attempt to determine a weapon from its patterns left on the body, in this case a rope. T'was the beginning of forensic science, and leads to the very work you preform daily Will. Far more research, evidently, has been done since then on the subject but the basic principles still apply. For instance," Hannibal spun Will about in his chair so suddenly, the man now facing him as he leaned in, essentially locking his Will on his chair. He allowed Will to grasp his brandy and drink it down before Hannibal continued, "when a large object falls on flesh, you will see large blocks of bruising on the skin, even if on a corner. This, dear Will," Hannibal raised Will's shaking wrist up gently, noticing the males eyes widening with a slight amusement overrun by his current annoyance, even anger, "would be the result of an individual grabbing your wrist and dragging you along behind them."

Will lowered his face, curls dropping over his eyes as he sat in his embarrassment. Hannibal allowed this as punishment for his Will's attempt at lying to him for a few moments, but then stood up to put away the book in his rare section. Returning to kneel down before the man, Hannibal crossed his arms over Will's own knees and lay his head upon them as he awaited his Will's return to him. Will on the other hand was racing in his mind, knowing he shouldn't have lied but now feeling even less like talking about the experience as he honestly could care less about it, Hannibal clearly not feeling the same way about the situation. When Will looked up enough to connect his eyes with Hannibal's, he reached up to scratch his curls and say a meek, expected, "Sorry."

Hannibal smiled back at his empath, reaching forward to run his own hand through Will's curls and pulling the male forward, until his lips were right next to Will's ear, before whispering warmly, "Please do not lie to me Will. Ever."

Will then took it a step further, wrapping his arms around Hannibal and bringing the male in for a short hug that the doctor easily returned. The pair stayed like that for a few seconds, both just breathing in the other before Hannibal broke the embrace and went to sit in his normal chair, awaiting Will and smirking now behind his glass when he saw Will's twitching fingers almost reach for him as the other male followed unconsciously, no direction needed.

"So tell me Will, what of your latest murderer?" Hannibal asked, the light and calm returning to Will as he fell back into his new routine.

"Paranoid, kills the men he thinks are following him. But it's not about what they look like and I'd bet we'll find more bodies connected to him over the years, escalating to the point that he now rips apart their entire body, leaving only this shell and mounds of flesh and organs and bones, but all the victims have a certain type of watch, report says its the only thing missing."

"A watch, Why." Hannibal stated, Will no longer noticing the lack of a question anymore.

"It's important in some way, he thinks someones been following him since his first kill, someone close to him, probably family, and since then he's just been running from his memories, avoiding them at all costs." Will stated, quickly continuing as to not invite the comparison he was certain Hannibal would make. "But he won't be hard to catch, victims wife ID'd the watch, so Crawford's gonna put out some recalls and warnings to all dealers around and hopefully catch the guy soon or his next victims. I think he doesn't even know what he's doing anymore. He's just so.. detached. From reality, from his own past, probably is mentally ill in some way beyond just the paranoia."

Hannibal smiled complacently, not mentioning how similar the man in question was to Will, because that man wouldn't and didn't have someone like Hannibal to lead him through the darkness. "Do you believe the watch was significant."

"Do you?" Will asked, honestly unaware of the males intent, his mind so much more fragmented than Will's own, which was saying something in his opinion.

"Well, as it was all that was taken it is clearly what he wanted, no?" Hannibal asked genuinely as Will's face scrunched cutely.

"He tore apart the mans briefcase, ripped open the seams of his clothes and pulled out every organ and bone the guy had below the neck, he was looking for something, and he was completely convinced it was there, some kind of tracking device or something. Katz said she found no evidence of a gag or anything, so he didn't care about witnesses, I mean the murder scene is empty but not that empty." Will thought out loud. "It's like a drug for him, like OCD and he can't stop himself, but it's also something he needs to do at all costs above any notion that he may be caught, doesn't even think about the police."

"What about the weapon used."

"An axe, sharpened." Will shivered at the memory of himself wielding the blade in the name of the murderer. "Don't know why, he's got resources enough to keep himself tidy and clean enough not to leave much in the way of evidence, could definitely access an easier weapon."

"A personal touch perhaps. So, why was the victim chosen. Not just the watch as it would be difficult for him to track everyone with that particular copy."

Will thought for a moment as Hannibal waited, and Will reported what Crawford had told him. "His wife said he always walks that road to work, must have seen him often enough to think he was being followed, and when he had the watch the murderer attacked."

"Hmmm, well, a simple enough case, well done Will." Hannibal congratulated, ignoring the mans snort. "I would ask to invite you to a meal to celebrate."

Will snorted again. "Celebrate what? Another death?"

Hannibal's internal inclination was to agree as he saw no problem with this particular pigs death, having read the police file and seeing the waste of meat's history of abuse and violence in a manner Hannibal found rude, but he chose a more tactful approach.

"No, to congratulate you on a successful case, as just before you arrived I received a call from Agent Crawford stating they have caught and charged a Jackson Shimens for the murder of your victim Calvin Tromell." Hannibal clapped a few times for Will, giving the man another glass of brandy as he let the information sink in.

"That was only like, ten hours ago," Will checked his watch to be certain, Hannibal cutting him off from continuing.

"Yes, and you are very skilled in your work Will. Agent Crawford found him below a bridge, with twelve other watches including Mr. Tromell's engraved wedding gift, back in the rightful possession of his wife. Now, your murderer is caught and your dogs fed, I asked Alana to venture out for the night, and you are in great need of a good meal by the look of you." Hannibal stood, following his own growing routine of putting away their respective bottles and leading Will out by his uninjured wrist to his car.

Will followed behind once his dogs were deemed safe and fed, still thinking on the record of what had to be the fastest unknown fugitive catch in his career.

Hannibal had been the one to provide some intelligence to the investigators the moment he had gotten off the phone from giving an analysis to Crawford, having allowed a page to slip out of a file of the man in question onto a particular desk regarding a certain stint in a medical facility for criminally insane patients after the murder of his wife and daughter. They had been seen to be agents come for the troubled man and he had butchered them with a homemade axe after his disease had been recognized by his wife and she had taken measures to rehabilitate him like locking him in. This led agent Crawford to the murderers history of having thrown the dismembered pieces off a local bridge, along with the axe, where he was then arrested as he furiously cleaned the blood from his flesh.

Once confirmed with Hannibal, this led Crawford to the mans current location of underneath the bridge, his personal psychosis and the place in between the abandoned buildings he stayed at. Then he had had several patients come and go before his Will was next, not that the male would even show up but the anticipation still brought Hannibal some joy, to the extent he could feel it, and he had to pour himself a glass of wine as he spoke to the young woman blinded by her own vanity to not simply drive to Will's shack and bring the male into the city himself.

He had not seen Will in well over a week, and though he had kept up to date with the mans teaching and his meetings with Crawford, the last few days had been overly annoying to Hannibal. He had added many new sketches since their last session, and Hannibal was certain the food he had filled Will's fridge with was going rotten and being uneaten, and although this was something he had expected when he had filled it in the first place it unnerved him to waste the food. Hannibal had considered providing Will with another murder 'victim' in his absence, but committed to completely cutting Will off from both sides of him, unfortunately having to back off from his Will in turn. No texts, no phone calls, no late night visits, and it was surprising to Hannibal how much Will's absence affected him, fully realizing the extent of his obsession with Will though it felt completely natural to him and only cemented his resolve to become as important to Will as his empath was to him.

Will drove in his vehicle behind Hannibal, and only then noticed how tired he really was from the week on his own, as well as how easily he fell behind Hannibal thought the man again encroached on his privacy in sending out Alana without asking him before hand. Will sent a quick text of thanks to Alana, and she answered back though Will was getting so tired he didn't hear the buzzing, and just as they were reaching Hannibal's home Will began to drift, figuratively as well as literally, the car swerving lightly and Will only waking fully at the sound of a horn in front of him. Hannibal came to his door and opened it, practically holding Will up by the arm wrapped firmly around his waist and led him inside, dropping his Will on the couch to rest as Hannibal grabbed some candles to begin to set the table, but not before laying a light kiss to Wills curls and bidding him sweet dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

_Will sat up, surprised to find himself not running. There was no screaming around him like normal, but the house, though uncleaned, was devoid of any bodies or blood. Just echoing silence in the, suddenly empty, space. Will had almost gotten used to stepping over flesh in his nightmares, never having shoes, and the wood beneath his feet felt strange as Will walked around his house. Will walked around for a few moments before the solitude was getting to him and he began to look outside, sure he would see blood and bodies yet actually seeing none. Will ran outside to be certain, and in the imaginary field so like his own yet not, with additions from Ripper murder scenes, the fence just one example of many he could see in the distance. Will wondered the surrounding area, always keeping his house in visual range as he scouted and searched with a hunters silence for the Stag he knew to be somewhere near._

 _Will couldn't really say why he was following the blood and bodies rather than thanking any deity possible for the slight peace, but Will was quickly finding complete solitude to be his biggest fear, having no others around to feel, including his dogs, left Will with only himself to analyze over and over. Will had already learned some troubling facts about himself, his own seemingly budding obsession with his intrusive non-therapist and now he was hunting for a nightmarish Stag that was really just the Ripper in disguise, the empath shaking his head at himself even as his steps remained steadfast in his pursuit. It wasn't long before he found himself before the very cavern he had been led to before, first sitting in the field surrounding the cave before steadily inching closer until he stood literally at the precipice of darkness. He could feel heat coming from the caverns depths, along with a repugnant smell that pervaded the immediate area and no doubt kept the place devoid of any other creature than the Stag. As Will continued to think he saw movement in the shadows before him, a great rack being seen and nothing else in the dark. It sat far enough in that Will could barely see its figure but still knew it to be there._

 _"Hello?" Will called lightly, still unwilling to step forward._

 _The rack moved yet again, lowering to the ground slowly, like a bow, before raising back up but remaining in the caverns depths, Will having no choice but to step forward if he wanted to reach it. It stomped its hoof once, and Will knew the creature to still be angry with him, Will seating himself on the floor before speaking again._

 _"I'm sorry I was rude, and thank you for getting those things out of my house."_

 _This seemed to please the creature as it moved forward slightly before stopping just at the edge of darkness, Will on the edge of the light and though he could see the blood red eyes of the beast staring at him both refused to move forward. Will shuddered as he heard the faint sounds of screaming coming from inside the caverns depths, and it was the only thing that kept Will feeling sane at the moment, kept him from moving forward._

 _As he backed away slightly, his feet moving unevenly and his head spinning, Will heard the annoyed pant come from the creature. He shook his head to regain his vision, sitting down in the empty field and feeling alone as the Stag walked back into the dark cavern. Will stuttered in breaths, gripping his skull and shaking it yet again to remove the crazy that had led him outside the relative safety of the house, before he stood and turned to make his way back. Only to come face to face with Hobbs and Abigail, standing side by side not two inches from his face. Will jumped back in surprise as Hobbs pulled out a knife and Abigail held her neck high for her father to slice open without a sound, Will finding himself unable to move as she bled out, blue eyes locking with his before fading._

 _"See." Hobbs said angrily, not even looking at his daughters corpse as he rose the blade at Will. "See!"_

 _Will took a step back, only to feel himself be enshrouded by the darkness of the cavern and cold claws reach up to grip just below his shoulders. Will struggled in the grip but was easily detained and as he looked up he saw Hobbs rushing at him, blade raised and the dead man yelling with all his might, "SEE!"_

Will jerked forward on the couch, wondering for a moment what had happened as he ran his hands through his hair and gazed around the room. He had gone in to see Hannibal, was convinced to follow the man, and he couldn't remember beyond that. Will narrowed his eyes as he recalled the loophole he had left the man in drugging him and decided Hannibal must have been responsible. When he heard the shifting of a pan in the kitchen Will followed the noise, silently stomping into the room with a single minded focus and coming up behind the doctor, the mans shoulders tensing in response. Hannibal turned to face an angry Will with narrowed eyes of his own at the mans attempt at sneaking up on him, but Will crossed his arms and didn't back down.

"Did you put something in my drink." Will used one of Hannibal's own tactics, demanding an answer instead of asking a question.

Hannibal turned back to check on the roast and mix the sauce before indulging the fuming empath, not even looking at Will as he spoke. "No. You have simply not been sleeping for the past week according to agent Crawford, and proven by the fact you nearly fell asleep whilst driving here."

Will deflated almost instantly. He had forgotten he had been avoiding sleep for the past week, maybe getting a few hours at most, and a majority of that time being five minute cat naps when he became literally too exhausted to stand. Will turned around, scratching at his curls and curling his socked toes on the cool white tiles, only just noticing that Hannibal had removed his shoes and coat, let him sleep and was now cooking him dinner for what seemed like the hundredth time. Will sighed at himself, thinking he may be more similar to Shimens than he had thought and twisted around to apologize only to find himself pulled into a hug. Will tensed at the unexpected contact but curled his arms around Hannibal's back and whispered, "Sorry," from his place leaning against the mans shoulder.

"Do not think on it Will," Hannibal said, leaning his cheek down upon Wills head and digging the hand not wrapped around his Will into the empath's curls for a moment before fully releasing him.

Hannibal then handed Will two cloth napkins, folded into miniature swans "please put these on the table, and then you can assist me if you like."

Will shuffled out to do as told, finally noticing the decorative format of the table, with two spots set and candles laid out, already lit around the room. Will sighed again, before he walked back to 'assist' the chef, more concerned with destroying Hannibal's meticulously created masterpiece than anything. But before that Will had one demand.

"Hannibal."

"Hmm?" Hannibal responded as he chopped up what looked to be carrot, sweet potato, and pumpkin, sliding them into a pan and adding a dash of something that lit the pan ablaze for a moment, Hannibal flipping the contents easily before adding some spices and dousing the flame.

Will watched the orchestra of movement for a moment, admiring how each step was planned and perfectly coordinated with all others, nothing out of step in the fluid motions, before finally speaking.

"Give me your word you won't put anything in my drink ever again." Will stated, sitting at the kitchen table.

"...I will not." Hannibal replied after a moments thought, Will sputtering cutely and Hannibal smiling lightly at the picture. "I would never do so to any meal, and I shall give you my word that I will never place anything in your drink without making you aware, but it seems you only remain in your bed when forced to and as such I will do so if and when necessary."

This, of course, left several large exploitation's available to Hannibal, in that what was necessary to him and medically necessary was not always the same thing, as well as the fact that he didn't have to make Will knowledgeable before he had ingested the necessary drug, medically or otherwise. Will, however, seemed to overlook this and rolled his eyes but looked away in agreement anyway as he knew very well his own tendencies and thought that perhaps the drugs would help. Hannibal removed the roast from the oven, placing it on a rack over a pan to catch the drippings and slicing pieces of a section of roasted leg of a barber who had grossly overcharged him, skin peeled off to look not unlike beef.

Will turned away and fiddled his twitching fingers on the surface as Hannibal watched.

"Will." Hannibal called him and Will turned back to face in his direction without looking at the doctor.

"Please hand me the bowls." He asked, but really didn't, of Will.

Will grabbed the bowls placed on his table and handed them to Hannibal, who in turn placed them next to the stove before he offered a hand, palm up, to Will's lowered vision and held it there until the empath moved forward to stand next to him. He then guided his Will to mix the dish on the stove while Hannibal continued slicing bits of the roast off until he reached the bone, placing it in a pot in the sink before turning back to Will.

"Now," Hannibal called his Will from the complete focus held on the vegetable mixture, "the meat is sliced and needs to be shredded, and the sauce you are creating requires the juices."

Will nodded as Hannibal poured the pan of juices from the roast over the mixture, brushing Wills shoulder as he did so, and pulled away to urge Will back into stirring the bubbling mix. Hannibal turned down the heat before grabbing some meat shredders and pulling apart the roasted leg meat of the barber until it was in loose strands, placing them on the pan that held the juices and putting that back in the cooling oven to keep warm. He checked over Wills shoulder and allowed him to continue mixing needlessly as he pulled out two decorative spinach salads from the fridge, already made with his own light sprinkling of 'bacon' bits, or barber bits was more accurate, on top and handed them to Will.

"You may place these on the dinner table Will." Hannibal said, placing a hand on Will's back and ushering him out as he took the empaths place at the stove.

He mixed in some spices and added a light shaving of gouda before turning the element near completely off, mixing the dish around as it began to cool and ceased its bubbling, Hannibal satisfied with the amount of juice that had boiled off. After removing his apron, putting his jacket back on and checking the look of himself in the mirror, further straightening his tie, Hannibal followed Will into the dinning room just in time to witness the adorable sight of his Will attempting to lay the bowl down in the complete center of the place-mat, the man sighing at himself as he shifted it ever so slightly before backing away and taking notice of Hannibal's presence.

"Please have a seat." Hannibal suggested, pulling out a chair for Will and pushing it back in as the man took it, though obviously out of embarrassment by the look of him, not that Hannibal was adverse to the blush it brought to Wills cheeks.

Hannibal then lit the only remaining unlit candles, a tall pair mixed into the ornate decorations covering the table. Hannibal had chosen a red cloth for the evening, four small candles lighting the corners of the cherry wood, and the candles being the only source of light in the entire room besides the dimmed chandelier light. In the center of the table, in between Hannibal and Will was a littering of petals, some red, others black or white. Hannibal had then placed some sort of wreath or garland, real by the look and smell, around in a wide oval. The two tall candles stood in the garland at the edges, allowing the pair full view of each other over a mass of tangling reed-like plants that served as a base for the centerpiece. A small table, nearly buried in the plant base, that held a fairly small cornucopia bursting in an ordered fashion with all real gourds, leaves from various trees and some holding fresh looking berries. There were large walnuts and other nuts Will couldn't distinguish spread over the area, and even for Hannibal it seemed over the top to Will.

"Thank you Hannibal, but really, this is way too much." Will scratched at his curls as he looked over the amount of work put into what lay before him and wondered how long he had been sleeping.

"Not at all Will," Hannibal replied lightly, "it is my absolute pleasure to feed you, especially since it seems you do not feed yourself well enough."

"I...I just don't get hungry often I guess." Will tried to reply as lightly, but Hannibal was far better at the underlying criticism than Will was at avoiding it.

"Yes, well I hope you are hungry tonight." Hannibal swept out a hand in presentation, going for a bottle of wine placed on a shelf covered with candles and filling both his as well as Wills glass before taking a seat. "We begin with a light spinach, goat cheese, and pecan salad."

Hannibal rose a glass, Will following suit and just as they met Hannibal said with a smile, "To you."

Will blushed at the attention before raising his own slightly and murmuring, "To your cooking," before drinking, though cooking was putting it lightly. As though there was any comparison between cooking and the art that Hannibal performed.

Hannibal smiled at that, a quirk of the lips really but something Will found more real than most of the huge fake smiles presented to him everyday by those who thought, misguidedly that Will couldn't read it or feel it on the person. Crawford especially looked at him like a lab rat when he thought Will wasn't paying attention, a tool used for his own purposes, but would smile with a gaping of teeth and pat Will on the back after the man had tore his own mind apart enough to get what the agent needed. Alana looked at him like a kicked puppy, and moved around him with a caution that aggravated Will to no end, unable to fully ignore the sorrowful gaze beneath the woman's bright looking smile. Katz and Zeller looked at him like he was crazy, keeping an eye on him at all times like he would suddenly leap at them or try to take their research, and Will was certain that Zeller in particular saw him as a murderer waiting to snap, which honestly bothered Will the least of the group as it was closest thing to being accurate.

Hannibal, on the other hand, reprimanded Will and scolded him but never pitied him, was never frightened by him, not that he had ever seen the man truly frightened. The closest thing was relieved when Hannibal learned Will was not in fact murdered by Tobias Budge and was still with him but beyond that Hannibal was the one that treated Will with the most respect out of everyone.

The pair sat and ate the salad, Hannibal watching him take every bite and Will finally feeling the tole of not having eaten in a week and then some. He held himself back as best he could from just wiping out the plates contents and attempted to slow his pace to match Hannibal's, but moments later found himself again clacking silverware with, this time china, plates. Will internally reprimanded himself for the miscalculation before noticing Hannibal not even glancing at the dish, just watching Will eat and continuing his own meal at a leisurely pace. Eventually, once finished, Hannibal took Wills plate but brought the man with him to plate up the next dish.

"A rich cirque de la mer for the second course, known as circus of the sea for its classical pairing with fish, however, tonight we shall mix it with a more common American alternative, beef." Hannibal spoke as he flared up the vegetable mixture and pulled out the pulled apart barbers leg.

Will stood next to him as he showed the empath precisely how he was preparing their meal, having seen his Will staring at him in wonder during such escapades only making Hannibal all the happier to provide Will with such a show. Hannibal reached for some mass of stringy vegetables left on the counter and placed it next to the bowls. He then presented Will with the pan and instructed the male to put a light layering of non-beef strings on the bottom, after which he piled on the mixture with a slotted spoon to get simply the vegetables and not the juice. Hannibal then took over for the pageantry, adding a light drizzling of sauce in perfect lines across the dish, followed by a small bunching of shredded barber leg and a sprinkling of the stringy white vegetables, topping the dish with razor thin slices of onion, parsley and rosemary, handing the dish to Will and quickly recreating one for himself before following Will back to the dinning room.


	11. Chapter 11

"This would be better paired with a 1992 Le Pin, Will." Hannibal spoke lightly as he walked next to Will and poured him a second glass of wine, this one having costed over a thousand dollars for the single bottle yet Will brought it to his lips and sucked the rare vintage down without a thought. Hannibal could only watch him do so with a fully genuine smile.

When Will noticed Hannibal still standing over him the empath looked directly at the man that tilted his head and fixed Wills messy hair in three quick movements before taking his own seat, Will feeling somehow reprimanded for his appearance though Hannibal didn't seem to mind given that the doctor was smiling more in this one evening than Will thought he had ever seen. Will shuffled in his seat, waiting for Hannibal to begin in the hopes he may not eat this dish in record time as well, but the moment he took a bite he was completely focused on the meal and, yet again, had an empty plate far before Hannibal. This left him with nothing to do but look at his dinner guest and realize they hadn't spoken much during the meal.

"Thank you Hannibal, it was delicious as always." Will started, unaware of what he would say next but just talking to fill the sufficatingly silent room.

"Thank you for enjoying, uncomfortable Will?" Hannibal asked, seeing through his Wills facade, the man visibly twitching in his seat.

"N-no." Will answered far too quickly. "No I just, it's, you normally ask me stuff."

"We are not currently in a session, Will, so why do you not ask me something then?" Hannibal suggested, pinning what Will was truly after whether he knew it or not.

"Uhm..." Will thought, suddenly having no questions though he distinctly remembered being annoyed with how much time he had thought about such an opportunity.

"Your from Lithuania you said right?" Will started though he knew the answer.

"Yes, I came here at the age of 25 after having graduated from medical school for a conference. I was drawn, and three years later, moved to Baltimore." Hannibal sipped from his wine, cutting in to guide Will in his obvious search for suitable questions.

Hannibal looked over at the painting hanging on the wall next to them, a seemingly quaint scene of a street in old Paris he had walked through shortly after attaining the art-piece when he gained his inheritance of sorts at the age of 17. The street in reality paled to the scene on his wall, an other-worldly if recognizable place. An unknowable man walked away into the canvas, a baguette in hand and a spring in his step, the other seven people slightly dwarfed in his presence. Some sat on the curb, others by an opened door along the street. Some walked and a woman stood away from the scene, detached from the activity happening around her, hand holding her chin in thought. Hannibal had some considerably rare and sole copies of various texts and scrolls and paintings that were worth far more in dollars than this painting, but he had placed it in his dinning room, his stage, as a constant reminder. He looked back at his Will, still wracking his empathic brain, and took pity on the male.

"Do you see that painting Will." Hannibal gestured to the piece and was amused at how visibly relieved the empath was at the distraction.

Will looked hard at the painting in the hopes of seeing a fraction of whatever it was Hannibal wanted him to see, and Hannibal waited for him to look back before the doctor continued.

"Did you know Will, I have distant relatives in France. This piece is from one of those relatives, dead now, by the name of Balthasar Klossowski, known to most as Balthus." Hannibal explained, giving his Will some history without divulging any of his own. "I was given this painting in a collection, and I have walked down those very streets in Paris. I have several other pieces of his worth far more, but I like this one, do you know why Will."

Will had turned back to gaze at the picture, suddenly finding it far more interesting than he had a moment ago, but shook his head to indicate he was still listening.

"I find this painting to be rather unique, Le Passage Du Commerce-Saint-Andre, painted in 1952. Though he had grown quite popular in his work, he was extremely elusive. His work resides in the Tate gallery as well as in the United Kingdom in a collection of pieces as well, but when prodded to provide details his response was only, No biographical details. Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. Now let us look at the pictures. Regards." Hannibal told Will, reciting the passage at the forefront of his mind at least half of the time first in French, then translating to English. "This work is a relatively unpopular work in comparison, but it is my favourite due to its simplistic alteration of reality. Things can seem a certain way in a picture, a piece of art, but the reality is something completely different and it takes a new perspective to truly see what is in the painting, beyond patterns and symmetry. Those roads in reality look nothing like this painting, and yet it looks just the same."

Will turned to look at Hannibal, the man in question picking up his empty dish, followed by Will's before heading into the kitchen. Will followed behind, grabbing a towel when Hannibal took control of the sink and drying that which Hannibal handed to him, being directed to the various cupboards and drawers in Hannibal's precious kitchen and feeling as though he didn't belong in the space. Hannibal, however, was feeling the opposite, that by his side in all aspects of life was exactly where his precious Will belonged and relished having the male back with him. Hannibal handed the last dish to Will, tapping a cupboard lightly before cleaning the sink and counters. He then led the empath back into the dinning room, standing in front of the painting and ignoring Will leaning on the old wooden table, thick though it was.

"An alternate reality that is not real nor is it fantasy but both and neither at the same time." Will was entranced by the painting and Hannibal stood transfixed by the image Will made as he continued. "Take yourself for instance Will, a fractured mind on one hand, an amazing gift on the other, yet you yourself are neither of those things and both of them."

Will nodded lightly, looking back at Hannibal. The doctor had a way of pulling Wills focus wherever he wanted, and Will stood in awe of the man in the candle-light, staring at his painting with a tilt of his lips.

"Did you ever meet him?" Will finally asked a second question.

"No, I prefer to heed the mans advice and look at his art instead, the fascinating concept of an anonymous artist, working in the shadows and only revealing himself through his art." Hannibal finished his wine, being sure to fill Wills back more than his own as he spoke.

Will tried to sip his own glass at the same pace but didn't have the palate to savour the extremely fine wine, ending up attempting to gulp it down slowly instead, much to Hannibal's amusement. Hannibal placed the cork back in the bottle before setting it next to the wine from the salad on the shelf. He then took his place back next to Will.

"Or you and I for example." Hannibal begun, the light thumping of his heart skipping a beat resounding in his chest when Will tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You are an agent of the FBI, and I a psychiatrist. Not true friends in the traditional sense, nor partners, neither at the same time."

"And both." Will added reaching up to scratch at his curls in shame at his inability to have real friends and feeling Hannibals eyes now trained on him.

"And both." Hannibal agreed.

Will shifted his gaze, gulping another large drink of the no doubt expensive wine before Hannibal took the glass from his twitching fingers and led him, hand on his back, back to the couch Will had been dosing on earlier. He sat down as the doctor went into a corner of the room and started his record player, a warm strumming of some stringed instrument filling the room, along with some low singing beginning the piece in a language Will could not recognize. The sound, however, was entrancing, and Will was left in the meditative music until Hannibal was suddenly standing in front of him. He reached forward to gently pull at Wills uninjured wrist, the empath following and standing before Hannibal, and for the first time that night, he felt truly nervous.

"Will." Hannibal called his attention, but when he lifted his eyes for a quick eye lock Hannibal grasped his chin and kept his head high to gaze right at the doctor.

Hannibal looked at him seriously, demanding he not look away as the doctor wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Will assumed the man to be reinitiating a hug, opening his arms wider in a half invitation his non-psychiatrist did not return. Instead, Hannibal lifted his head higher before moving to hold his chin between thumb and forefinger, staring directly into Will's eyes. Will was forced to see the warmth and calm demeener. He was forced to see the depth with which he was cared for by Hannibal, and stuttered in the mans grasp in an effort to break from the overwhelming emotion, but Hannibal took advantage of his opened state of mind and leaned forward to connect their lips in a chaste but incredibly satisfying kiss.

When he pulled away from the slack-jawed male, Hannibal lightly rubbed their cheeks together, also brushing their noses in a quick eskimo kiss before finally bracing both his hands on Will's cheeks, pressing their foreheads together and waiting for Will to look at him. The empath had clenched his eyes shut for the most part, twitching in every direction but Hannibal's when open. He waited for Hannibal to force him to move but the man simply kept him in place and, after several uncomfortable minutes Will looked directly at the doctor.

He first looked in shock, then in a light daze as his 'gift' kicked in and mirrored the calm look in Hannibal's gaze, the man not twitching as he exuded tranquility for his empath to latch onto. Moments later Hannibal blinked and Will's calm was broken for a fraction of a second, but long enough for him to shut his own eyes and attempt to shove the larger males shoulders away from him. Hannibal pulled back before quickly ducking beneath the empath's arms and pulling the man into a close hug, holding his Will close to calm the mans freight-train of a heart from beating out of his chest. Will struggled and hit at his back, but Hannibal could see his empath was not using his full strength nor was he reaching for his gun, all of which were good enough signs for him to once again speak.

"My precious Will." Hannibal whispered lightly, smiling at the male squirming anew in his arms.

Will was shocked to say the least. Well, shocked and angry and extremely confused yet finally understanding Hannibal's crazy, near obsessive nature towards him. Not that it was malicious, clearly, and Will was finally getting the atmosphere. The candles, the decorations, the always showing up with food or drink, the incredible amount of time spent on him, no doubt plenty of money as well, and the painting. The things not always as they seemed Hannibal had alluded to.

"Calm Will. Please calm." Hannibal demanded lightly, taking his Will's half-hearted abuse unflinchingly as he held the empath close.

"S-stop doing that!" Will hissed back at Hannibal's attempts to use his abilities against him.

Hannibal dug his hand in Will's curls and held that precious mind against his chest for a moment longer, taking another deep inhale before pulling back and allowing Will to shove himself onto the doctor's couch with a yelp of surprise that tickled Hannibal's chest pleasantly.

"You are right Will," Hannibal gave his empath the victory, the man confused for a few seconds as he tried to remember what he had just said, kneeling before him as the doctor continued, "I apologize."

Hannibal truly worshiped his Will in that moment on bended knee, like a humble disciple or, more likely given their current situation, a groom proposing to his wife-to-be. Perhaps both was more appropriate, each being a promise of love and devotion with distinctly differing methods of such and each of those options being equally tantalizing to the doctor. He smirked at the image internally, a small smile visible to the empath briefly locking eyes with him. A moment later the man had turned his gaze, trying to control his twitching appendages as he scratched at his curls, rubbed his sleeve, and curled his toes in the thick shag carpet in quick succession. His Will froze in order to piece together their true, if only budding relationship, though it had mostly been on Hannibal's literally undeniable behest. The man had been used in a sense, yet felt personally at fault after Hannibal's apology by the look of him and the doctor took pity on his obsession, placing both hands on Will knees and ceasing his movement.

Will, meanwhile, was thinking of his illusion of Hannibal calling him my Will, realizing as he said it that he just called the illusionary Hannibal his. His heart was pumping in his ears and he felt trouble breathing as he panicked lightly, not his worst attack, but not fun either. Will sat up slightly, feeling the look of Hannibal on him though he kept his eyes lowered beneath his curls and took a deep breath. Hannibal eventually reached up to push the hair back but Will's eyes remained trained on a fraying end in his cheap, checkered sweatshirt, which only caused Hannibal to lift his chin instead and, once again, lock their eyes together.

"It is..." Hannibal checked his watch, "eight fifty-eight, you are in my home, your name is Will. Everything is alright, please calm yourself Will."

Will was half-torn between trying to be calm like Hannibal asked and being angry at the very same man for manipulating him, though he knew, somewhat, what was happening and so couldn't fully blame the doctor. This only pissed him off further and as Hannibal reached to place a hand on his cheek Will grabbed it before it made contact, looking directly into the other man's eyes.

"Stop." Will said, dropping the doctor's hand and standing up in a calm, near detached pace, before heading to the door.

"Will." Hannibal called him and Will took notice of how often Hannibal had called his attention, but did not turn back and continued to put on his shoes, not even tying the laces before walking out the door.

Will expected when the door opened a moment later behind him, the quick steps following him also expected but Will being swung around and shoved against Hannibal's car was not. Will looked at the angry male barely concealing the true anger and strength that seeped into the empath nonetheless, hands closed into tight fists against the car as he cocooned Will's body and Will was actually frightened at the sight. Hannibal, he realized, had never truly been angry with him until this moment and Will was feeling the consequences fall onto his mind like a twenty tonne anvil, crushing any residual anger he himself may have felt only moments before.

Hannibal was angry the moment Will refused to even acknowledge him and left his house without another word, briefly considering leaving the male to his own thoughts before thinking better of it considering the emotionally fragile Will and making a move after his empath. The man didn't look when he followed behind, didn't care that he had left his coat and keys back in Hannibal's closet and so the doctor took action to bring his Will's mind back to some semblance of normality.

Hannibal swung the empath around before slamming him back against the doctors own car, not concerned in the least that he possibly had dented the metal from his fists slamming down on the metal frame as he focused solely on Will and let him feel a taste of Hannibal's real anger. The man shrunk back, but Hannibal was not satisfied and continued to stare Will down silently until he had the man literally cowering from him, attempting to curl in on himself, before Hannibal grasped the mans wrist gently yet firmly, leading him back inside with no resistance from Will. Hannibal dropped the man back onto his couch before handing Will a large glass of wine, followed by another before he sat down next to his empath currently shaking in abject terror.

"Please do not fear me Will, I did not mean to frighten you." Hannibal had, but not to the extent that even expensive wine could not calm the man, and he ran his hands through Wills curls in a silent apology.

Will scoffed lightly in denial but leaned into his hand, making Hannibal smile at the unconscious hold he still had on his Will. He gave Will a third glass, making certain he drank enough before beginning the conversation again.

"I have many pieces in this house from relatives past and present, Will. I have artifacts like the text and painting I have showed you, as well as things far beyond their monetary value. However, precious Will, it is you that is most important to me compared to all that I have." Hannibal spoke completely honestly, the man sluggishly taking in the information with apparent amusement from the expensive alcohol guzzled down.

Will was giggling, yet completely serious when he spoke next in a light voice.

"Your doing it again."

"Doing what Will?" Hannibal asked his Will, watching with a keen eye as the man began to slide towards the edge of the cushion and lean back in exhaustion.

"Don't fuck with me Hannibal. You're fucking with me." Will responded, laughing lightly at his phrasing in context of the situation he found himself in, while trying to remain half-serious.

Hannibal grasped Will's arm, turning the man to look at him directly before saying, once again with complete honesty, "I am not lying Will."

Will looked at his non-therapists eyes deeply, squinting his own as he did so and leaning in close before accepting Hannibal was telling the truth. "You're not being honest either though." Will added as he ran his hands through his curls.

Hannibal smirked at his empath's abilities, leaning into his ear before whispering lowly, "Would you like me to be honest Will? About what I see?"

Will looked confusedly up at the doctor before he remembered the man had kissed him and blushed, shaking his head quickly, not thinking he could take knowing Hannibal's internal thoughts of him.

"N-no. I just don't want to play games." Will said finally, the giggling phase leaving him for a more somber feeling.

"Then let us not play games anymore Will." Hannibal said to his empath, lifting the mans chin to look at him again before leaning in and recapturing Will's lips in another kiss.

Will was shocked and perhaps the liquor perhaps the sheer sensation left Will to not deny the kiss for a few seconds, enough for Hannibals tongue to run lightly over his lips before Will shoved the man away, hands on the doctors chest and feeling the steady heartbeat of the larger male through his suit layers. Hannibal remained where Will pushed him, but did not pull away his hands from their position wrapped around his Will's waist as Hannibal waited.

"You're manipulating me." Will whispered, unable to move any further, hands clenched in the soft material covering Hannibal's chest.

"I am not, Will. I am trying to help you, as someone who loves you deeply." Hannibal purposefully chose the word to make the empath sputter, as well as because he truly did love his Will, more than he could love anything.

And Will did sputter in response, shaking his head of the word to focus on the statement and, while patronizing, Hannibal had done much to assist him in performing his work as well as just functioning properly in everyday life and Will was once again feeling like an jackass, this time ignoring it.

"Then stop doing it so conspiratorially!" Will shouted, forcing his anger to rise back up.

Hannibal pulling him into another hug squashed that anger, and Will had a distinct feeling that was the purpose behind it, but allowed the moment to reorient and focus him back on the situation, feeling his exhaustion creeping back up in the warm hold. Will pushed the man back, walking out through the kitchen onto the deck, and lighting a cigarette to curb his frustration. Hannibal followed to stand next to Will as he worked through the struggle and awaited the mans next change in personality. Will on the other hand was feeling more clarity with each inhale, and half way through turned to sit up on the railing, watching the doctor come to stand in front of him.

"You can't treat me like a patient Hannibal, that was the only reason I agreed to these sessions." Will took another drag, looking pointedly at Hannibal when the man tried to take a step towards him to stop the motion.

Hannibal remained where he was, standing tall and confident as he easily conversed with his shivering Will in the cold night air. "I would argue I treat you very differently from other patients Will."

Will blushed as he took another drag. "Not like that, I mean in general. You use my mind against me, and you know you do." He stated bluntly.

Hannibal's nod shocked Will enough to drop the cigarette, Hannibal reaching down to pick it up and hand it back to Will, remaining less than two feet away from the man as he continued.

"Yes, I have attempted to cultivate an unconscious trust so you will allow me to help you Will, not for my benefit, but your own." Hannibal spoke, ignoring his Will's scoff. "If you recall your last week alone compared to my daily visits Will? What do you notice?"

Will thought about it, and agreed with Hannibal which only made him angry at himself now, the doctor patting his knee lightly before continuing.

"I see a difference between you when you are alone, and when others are around you. If nothing more comes of our relationship Will," Hannibal reached for Will's cheek but stopped the motion himself, fingertips less than an inch from the mans skin, "please do not revert to being alone once again."

That cut deeply into Will, and Hannibal knew it, adding the motion of his fingertips nearly brushing Wills skin in an offering of revoked kindness as he wounded the empath. He had not wanted to do so in this process, but the man was more resilient than first anticipated and Hannibal was forced to take further steps or risk losing the empath, which was not an option. Will was indeed wounded at the honesty wrapped in kindness. He knew his own tendencies, and knew Hannibal was aware of his life lived alone, having scrubbed it clean, but did not anticipate the sheer amount of longing he thought he heard in Hannibal's words, though that may just be him, of a desperation for Will to be well, as well as respectfully keeping his hands off of Will. He knew that everything Hannibal had ever done turned out to have good intentions, even when insane actions were involved, and his attraction for Will made all the extra steps he had taken make all the more sense.

Will reached up to scratch at his curls before finishing the cigarette and putting the filter back in the case, not wanting to ruin Hannibal's lawn. Will rolled his eyes at the consideration before looking at the doctor, and took notice of the total and complete focus the man held on him. Ignoring the fuzzy feeling in his chest Will leaned forward, his forehead resting on Hannibal's chest and the man quickly responded, closing the gap between them fully as Will nuzzled into the doctor and Hannibal ran his hands gently through Will's abused curls.


	12. Chapter 12

His Will was a prophet, unjustly martyred by the blind creatures surrounding him. He was a god, only worthy of being worshiped by one that could fully grasp the greatness within him and Hannibal was more than willing to devote himself to the pursuit, having begun preparing for it the moment he had first seen Will. Now, with the man in his arms completely conflicted and yet still maintaining that unbridled trust in him, Hannibal stroked the curls of his empath to comfort the self-tortured and still ingenious mind beneath his fingertips. When Will made no move to pull back Hannibal rose his Wills chin to look into shaky green orbs, leaning in and rubbing their cheeks together when the other male flinched at his movement, and smirking only once out of the empath's eye-line. Hannibal reached an arm around Will when his empath leaned in closer, before leading them forward.

"You seem to be intoxicated once again Will." Hannibal murmured humourously, practically holding the empath up.

"Your fault..." Will grumbled back, Hannibal nodding at that.

"I suppose it is."

"Your not gonna drive me back again are you?" Will asked, attempting to check the watch milometers away from his face, unsuccessful due to his drunken state.

"No," Hannibal laughed lightly, "you may make use of my home tonight Will, as is only fair."

"Hmmm, 'k." Will responded, not really feeling up to the task of getting himself back to his house.

Will followed Hannibal around as the doctor blew out the mass of candles, unconcerned of the arm wrapped intimately around his torso as they moved around the room and then up the stairs. Hannibal brought Will to a guest bedroom, leaning in once again to lightly butt heads with his empath and holding there until Will looked up at him for a moment.

"There are towels in the bathroom and extra clothes in the drawers, please feel free to make use of them. Good-night Will." Was all he said before pulling back and turning to head to his own room, shutting the door without looking back.

Will stood in the hallway for several moments, drunkenly gazing at where the doctor had been standing only seconds ago. He shook out his curls sloppily and ran a hand through them as he moved into the room and straight to the shower to clear his thoughts, not even turning on the bedroom light. He enjoyed the pressure of Hannibal's shower-head, far better than his own, and stayed under the near-harsh spray for a half hour before coming out and wrapping the towel left for him around his waist. Will entered the room and, while slightly used to it by now, felt completely out of place. The pearl coloured carpet was thick and warm beneath his bare feet, matching the cozy feel of the dark red wallpaper.

The room held a mirrored, low dresser that stretched against the wall next to the door, facing the foot of the bed. The thick blue duvet covered the bed, two pillows in pale blue cases against the headboard made of a dark cherry wood and Will struggled not to just curl up on the floor and fall asleep there. Instead Will moved to the window, next to the beds headboard and opened it, breathing in the night air. He looked around, seeing an antique looking chair on the other side of the bed, and next to that a night table with a reading lamp on it. Will crawled over the bed to flick on the light, not liking the idea of anything too bright at the moment, before heading to the dresser. He considered not touching the thing and simply sleeping in his own clothes, but with Hannibal securely out of the room, Will was feeling bold and like doing a little snooping. The empath pulled open the top drawer lightly, as though the doctor was listening in on him, before looking through what was left for Hannibal's guests.

 _'Wonder when he would ever have people stay over anyways?'_ Will thought to himself and figured Hannibal would probably never directly tell him anyway and letting it go.

Will took note of how the pajama pants were folded as he unraveled the pair. He found a black tag and when he looked at the tag it read simply, 100% cashmere. Will rolled his eyes at that, as it was very like Hannibal to have clothing he would never fit into, the pair looking to be far closer, a perfect fit in fact, to Wills own, lying in a drawer in a guest bedroom. Will laughed conspiratorially in the dark, looking at the wall in the direction of Hannibal's room with fondness as he rolled up the pants and put them away, checking the other drawers to be certain and finding, with another laugh, that all the clothing looked to be Will's size, far too small for the doctor who bought the fancy, useless articles of cloth.

Will opted to sleep in his own boxers and huffed as he noticed that it was the first time in a long time he had not slept fully clothed as he normally found himself walking through the night and having clothing on made the treks back easier. He also noticed he was feeling far safer in Hannibal's home, like the doctors presence alone would alleviate his wanderings and made a note to be less dependent. Will piled the clothes he was wearing as well as the wet towel on the thomas sheraton chair next to the bed and flicking off the lamp before crawling in under the duvet cover and sheet, the warmth of the soft covers immediately sinking into his very bones.

Hannibal, in the master bedroom, had taken a quick shower of his own, smirking as he listened to his Will soak for the thirty minutes he spent getting dressed in his own set of pajamas and settling in his thick, black leather oculus chair. He opened the book he was currently reading and turned on the lamp on the small table next to him to continue, listening carefully to any sound coming from the wall right next to him that connected through the guest bathroom to where Will was currently shuffling around. Hannibal heard the near silent pull of the curious empath opening the drawer and no doubt noticing the clothing fitted precisely to Will's size that the doctor had bought for him.

As the drawer closed and Will curled into the bed the room went completely silent, and Hannibal continued to sit and read. He did so for another hour and a half before finally closing the book, turning off the lamp and standing up to silently move out into the hallway. Hannibal walked to Will's door, listening keenly for the deep breathing and, when it was heard he stepped into the room, leaving the door open behind him. The doctor moved swiftly to cease the movement of Will waking and gently pushed the male back down, shutting the window before taking a seat on the duvet. Hannibal gently ran his hand through Will's curls, satisfied at the amount of life they had gained from having a real shower, and leaned in the breathe in the scent of the ten voss shampoo and conditioner retailed together at 600 dollars for a single set, no doubt poured on by Will with no thought on the matter. Hannibal on the other hand had thought out and prepared the room for Will, one near him yet distant enough for the man to feel safe, to perfection. The bathroom was stocked with thick, soft towels, the bed was covered in a simplistic style for Will's sake but remained much more to Hannibal's standards, and the dresser was fully stocked with clothing that his empath would not feel uncomfortable in.

Hannibal continued to breathe deeply before pulling back and simply running his hands through that hair as he just remained close to his Will. After some time he moved to the sheraton chair next to the bed and relaxed into it, his arms upon on the arm rests and looking and feeling for all the world like the Pharaohs of old. When Will made another move to sit up Hannibal considered pushing him back, but after some thought recalled it had been some time since he had been able to simply walk around behind his Will as the man wandered in his nightmares and instead got out of the empath's way. Will stood and shuffled towards the open door, Hannibal remaining seated for a few seconds after he could no longer see the empath, gathering Will's clothing and quietly following behind. He walked four steps behind Will at all times, stopping when the empath stopped and patiently waiting for him to move down the stairs. As he attempted to head towards the front door from his limited memory and knowledge of the doctors home, Hannibal turned Will towards the kitchen and nudged the man forward as he moved to put Will's clothing into the washing room, closing the door without turning on the machine.

Hannibal found Will bumping into his island counter, placing his hands on Will's shoulders and guiding the male forward to the door leading down into the basement. For all measures the base floor was like any other when lightened, but Hannibal led Will forward in the pitch black by his wrist and past the partition leading to the doctor's work-space, a large freezer buzzing away. Hannibal abandoned him for a moment in the dark to pull out a large brown paper package from the freezer before placing it on a the table before Will.

Hannibal pulled on his body suit, reaching to his side to wheel the tray of tools close to him before handing over the sharp blade to Will, lifting the males wrist to pass it over and smirking as Will grasped it's handle immediately in a firm grip that detailed his lack of prowess in the act. The doctor then unwrapped the package to reveal a dark, now blue torso, all other appendages cut off. Hannibal moved to stand behind Will and touched his wrist, the empath reacting immediately and swinging the blade down to bury the scalpel deeply in the dead flesh in an act that definitely damaged usable flesh, something the doctor would normally not approve of.

Hannibal, however, was too busy gazing at Will's snarling face with a fondness he felt for no other creature to care at the moment, savouring the moment as the empath jerked the scalpel downward in a harsh move to open up the field, blood smearing over his bare arm, and from there the doctor took over. Will stood off to the side in a daze as Hannibal removed organ after organ finding the heart to be severely damaged from Will's unskilled cuts. Hannibal would normally throw it out, though he himself had not made such mistakes since he was a child, but felt the soft flesh was highly symbolic and not unlike his Will, broken but fixable and yet still irrevocably changed. Hannibal passed Will a diseased and unusable pancreas, the empath squishing and pulling away at it like a toy as the doctor worked away to package back up the torso of the barista for further plundering and each of the organs before wiping Will's chest, arms, and hands free of the fluid and blood until not a single drop was left.

He packed away each item into the fridge save the liver which he brought upstairs with them, Will walking back through the dark basement easily and, at Hannibal's direction, back up the stairs. Hannibal put the liver into the kitchen fridge and followed Will back up, guiding the male into the guest room and into the bed, back to where they started. Hannibal tucked his Will into the covers before running a hand through the empath's curls and leaning in to breathe in deeply the scent of soap mixed with a hint of blood, smirking at the calm, sleeping male and heading back to his own room for the rest of the evening, a total of three hours of sleep left to him.

 _Will wished he was running at break neck speeds through forest or field, branches in his face and wind whipping around him as he moved as fast as his wheezing lungs and shaking legs could carry him and the only thing that kept him moving being the adrenaline flowing through his viens at rates not near high enough for Will's liking. Instead, Will found himself waking up in the very same position he had been in just before he woke hours ago, standing in at the edge of the dark caverns exit, but with the subtraction of Hobb's. This would have brought some relief to Will, if the feel of long claws were not still upon his shoulders and if he could not hear the panting beast standing behind him._

 _Will nearly felt like screaming for help but was also fearful of what his mind would send to answer the call so instead the empath jerked in the beasts gentle vice grip that did not give a milometer to Will's struggles, nor did it pull him deeper into the depths behind him. Will shuddered, dropping his head in a limp resistance but the creature was unaffected and, as he finally relaxed, the hands were gone. Will scrambled forwards, opening his eyes and coming face to face with the Stag, standing guard at the exit and lowering his antlers in a threat for Will not to move any closer which the male heeded, unwilling to attempt to dodge the rack of spears coming far too close to his flesh. The Stag stepped forward enough so that it was in the total darkness, making certain it had covered the exit enough that the empath could not get past it before the threatening aura was gone and Will felt free to walk up to the beast._

 _Will was caught between the spines in front and the darkness behind him, and it had been the first time he had actually felt scared of the beast. Despite its action towards others it had never threatened violence towards him until this moment and Will could not bring himself to even try and get around the wall of spears pointed at him. On the other hand he was faced with a darkness he never wanted to know about in any more detail than he already did. The beast was lying down the next time Will looked, staring at him from its position on the ground and nodding slowly in a motion for him to follow suit, giving a small huff as it did so. Will was shaking like a leaf as he moved his stiff limbs into a semblance of seating cross-legged. The beast stared at Will with no emotion what so ever in its beastial face, but the eyes spoke volumes and said very simply it was angry with him. The empath wondered if all the beasts meals were made to walk to their own death willingly or if, perhaps, it was playing a special mind game with Will himself._

 _'Lucky me' Will thought to himself before shaking out his fear and, aided in part by the beasts own anger flowing through him, was able to build up a glare of his own._

 _The beast did not like that, raising a hoof and stomping down as hard as its position would allow in response. Will did not waiver though and finally figured it was worth a shot._

 _"What the fuck do you want?"_

 _The beast snorted and almost rolled its eyes at that, as though the answer would be obvious._

 _"Well it's not." Will continued to the inaudible response._

 _The beast stared right at him, and Will could see things, memories swirling in its eyes but he couldn't see what they were, which was a frustrating thing to someone who more often than not saw too much. This creature was shrouded to him, however, and Will realized he wasn't looking at the full picture, like this was only part of it's true self being revealed to him, like there was a piece missing. The empath stared closer, leaning in subconsciously and the beast did not flinch or blink as it lowered its head to meet Will's, cradling the man once again in it's rack of spears._

 _"I don't understand." Will whispered in his daze._

 _The Stag pulled back to nibble at Will's cheek in a gesture of complacency, as though saying 'you will.'_

 _He considered yanking away from the creature but suspected he was being nudged down deeper and so Will remained where he was, though he was just now realizing how close the thing had gotten to him. The empath blinked several times to bring him back to his created reality and narrowed his eyes at the beast, pushing it back in a show of anger and standing over the murderous Stag._

 _"Why are you doing this to me?" Will asked and the Stag tilted it's head, before staring behind the empath and sending a shiver up his spine._

 _Will looked over his shoulder, expecting an unimaginable terror, but when he saw nothing but darkness he turned back to where the Stag had been seated, now the tar black humanoid in its place. It was seated cross-legged before him, black antlers still imposing on the creatures head, no matter it's form. The claws hung limp over its knees, but with the pitch black of it's body easily mixing into the black of the cavern, Will was only able to see the beast by its movements in the darkness. By now even beyond the cave was dark and Will felt abandoned by the sun itself, leaving him alone with this thing. The claws waved in a motion for Will to sit and, though he felt terrified to refuse it, he remained standing, arms crossed over a shaking body. The thing appeared to huff or gurgle in annoyance before it leaped passed Will, scaring the man back into a seated position as it flew past and, just as Will turned to look out the caverns exit the beast was right behind him. Will made a move forward but the claws suddenly back on his shoulder ceased any further motions as the beast passed him and retook it's seat, guarding the exit. Now, however, the thing held a stone in its claw, glowing brightly in the caverns darkness and held it out in an offering to Will._

 _The humanoid's eyes were pitch black like the surrounding flesh, but it was a, somehow deeper and darker black that seeped into it's very soul. The attacker, whereas the Stag was the one that manipulated and planned. Will stared deeply into the motionless beasts eyes, seeing a horrific and unruly creature leaving nothing but carnage in its wake. In that darkness, however, Will could see how very alone that thing was and, despite his own fear, felt sorry for the dark creature that probably had never associated its own isolation with anything but pride. As though others were unworthy of such perception, and were therefore no better than pigs to be slaughtered and feasted upon._

 _Will was certain he had gone completely insane when he found himself perfectly at ease with such a notion. The idea of the thing before him being upset with him, on the other hand, made the empath more frightened of it than of his own minds lunatic machinations. Will reached over to take the offered stone, holding it up to the rock for a moment before immediatly moving it when he saw the blood and flesh hanging from the walls in long strips. Instead Will placed it on the ground and was grateful despite himself for the creatures thought of him, scratching at his curls before mumbling a quick,_

 _"Thank you."_

 _The beast chortled, claws curling into the ground as it held itself back from leaping directly on Will, and he deemed it to be pleased with that, a moment later panicking at the comfort that simple action brought him._

 _"Please, can't you just leave me alone."_

 _The things happy demeanour soured slightly, but it was not angry with him, more annoyed. Still, it made a sympathetic purr in an attempt to ease his stress, even shuffling back slightly to give Will more space before chuffing slightly, edging him to speak to it more despite the lack of ability to answer beyond grumbles and chuffs. Will nearly rolled his eyes at the slight space given, an empty gesture really, but instead moved closer to keep the beasts eyes in full sight, while remaining a few feet away. The beast purred at that as well, happy with Will's movement and the empath slotted away the things total focus on action as opposed to the obvious motion of Will attempting to escape for later use. Will smiled lightly in an attempt to lure the thing into a false sense of security, but it saw through the fake uplift in the empath and tilted its head, careful of its antlers and grumbling lowly in question, so Will dropped the act with a sigh. He felt nearly violated at the way the beast knew him, but chalked it up to the fact that he was still within his own head._

 _"I'm not going in there." Was all he said, not even looking behind him._

 _The creature said nothing, and when Will looked at it, it just smiled at him with sharp and bloody teeth, and the empath could see the lack of concern on what it saw as the inevitable. With narrowed eyes Will clenched his fists, the feeling of inability weighing on him._

 _"If your not going to force me I won't go." He said simply._

 _The thing huffed gently, a placating gesture that Will easily recognized, internally snarling at the beasts easy dismissal of him._

 _"What is this?" Will asked of the glowing stone, prodding at it with a finger and rolling it around to distract himself before he attacked a beast that could easily kill him, even if it was just in his sleep._

 _The happiness was returned as the creature leaned forward slightly, growing when the empath strategically allowed it closer. One clawed hand removed itself from the earth, a single finger slicing through the dirt and carving out a phrase, 'A. Ye Ming Zhu'. Will narrowed his eyes at the words, looking to the beast with confusion and then anger as it just stared back at him with that same placating, complacent gaze. As the pair stared off at each other, the creature purring happily at having the empath's attention which just pissed him off further, a light began to shine behind the beasts head, showering it's antlers in brightness and revealing blood stained so far into the very bone it had Will looking away. The light became even brighter and so Will covered his eyes at the brightness, the beast whining right next to his ear, calling for him to remain but it's voice was already echoing farther and farther away with every second._


	13. Chapter 13

Will knew he was awake before he opened his eyes, and just then noticed that was the first time in nearly a month he had not been hearing the screams of anonymous victims every day and night as the empath had even begun to hear the screaming whispers when awake, echoing in the silence around him. Will took shuddering breath's and focused on calming his racing heart before climbing out of bed.

He reached over without looking for his clothes and found only the wood of the chair, checking to be sure before sighing in aggravation, an increasingly common phenomenon he was noticing more. He looked around the room again to notice a robe hanging on the back of the door that he couldn't be certain was there the previous night, pulling it on and moving down to where he knew Hannibal would be, the kitchen. Will could smell the food as he stepped slowly and silently down the stairs, not making a sound as he entered the room to find the doctor's back to him, and raised a finger as he was about to begin what had to be the one-thousandth rant at the male.

"Good morning Will." Hannibal spoke, not turning as he added the spice he had grabbed into the searing pan, smirking at the mental visage of Will's gaping mouth, puffed chest, narrowed crystalline eyes and finger raised to reprimand the doctor made into reality as he turned to face his companion.

This deflated Will's feeling of, for once, having the upper hand around Hannibal but the male shook it off and continued undeterred.

"Where are my clothes." The empath demanded.

"Currently drying, there are outfits available upstairs in the interim Will." Hannibal answered easily, too easily for Will's liking.

"Uhuhm... Thanks, but I'll just wait." Will listened for a sound of a dryer but heard none, the small smile on Hannibal's face speaking volumes and the empath crossed his arms, mumbling lowly, "You don't have a dryer."

"I do not. It is far better for the material, Will, to hang clothing dry when not being dry cleaned." Hannibal wasn't even hiding his manipulations from his Will anymore as it made little difference to the effect if the empath was aware or not, and both were proving to be entertaining to witness despite Will's unsteady emotions to contend with.

"Your-ghurh-" Will stopped himself from being rude, which seemed to get Hannibal angry, though so did ignoring the man completely leaving Will with few options. "You enjoy this... the manipulation, the game. It's all a game to you..." and Will subconsciously stumbled upon a bit of information that hurt him as he said it, raising a hand to cover his face and huffing a laugh at his own emotions.

The second the doctor had heard Will sneaking down the stairs, he had made the decision to respond to the empaths subconscious mimicking of his own behaviour, but Hannibal had not expected that. It wasn't completely false of course, and Hannibal enjoyed very much to play with his Will, but he had not anticipated the effect of Will's emotions being clouded by his own affection for the doctor. Hannibal ignored the food for a moment to tend to Will, a high praise in the world of the cannibalistic doctor but performed without a moments thought as his Will was the single most important thing to the beast, and Hannibal had many parts of many people he and the empath would fully enjoy together, therein showing how his brilliant Will was also wrong.

He did enjoy playing with Will, but felt a desire for his Will to fully enjoy the game with Hannibal, not at his expense, and the empath had been quite proud of himself of his delusion of sneaking up on Hannibal. The doctor pulled the empath into a hug as he thought, lifting Will's chin to connect their eyes and looking into the twitching orbs attempting to keep eye contact, resolving Hannibal to allow Will a gesture in order to draw the male back in mentally as well as physically, while still remaining completely honest.

"If this is in fact a game, you and I are comrades, not combatants Will. However, I see this as far more than a simple game, and you?" Hannibal smiled to entice his Will to speak, the man stuttering under his breath in a motion he thought the doctor wouldn't notice. When the empath didn't respond the doctor refused to release his Will's squirming chin, the pan billowing smoke behind him that he could not see but still smelled in the air.

Will did take notice and pointed in an attempt to distract the doctor as he spoke, "Your pan..."

Hannibal did not budge, however, and silently stared at his Will expectantly, the smoke beginning to turn black, signalling burning. Will struggled a bit more before finally relenting and responding to the doctors question.

"No."

"Good." Hannibal responded, kissing Will's cheek lightly and turning to finish breakfast, throwing away the liver and using a spare one he had in the fridge that, while less symbolic, would be unnoticed by his Will. The loss was well worth what Hannibal had gained in that moment anyways.

"I hope the clothing upstairs will suffice for the day Will." Hannibal offered direction to the man standing in the doorway with a dazed look, "Breakfast will be a few more minutes yet."

Will wandered up the stairs slowly and had made it to the bedroom when he realized Hannibal had once again manipulated him down into a calm state rather than the angry one he had begun in, knowingly evading the reason Will was angry in the first place which was something he logically should be happy about but just made him pissed all over again. He hung up the robe and opened the drawers to find the clothing that would not be uncomfortable to him, beyond, in his mind, just the soft material. Will finally just grabbed the first thing he could reach, the very same system he had put in place at his house ever since Hannibal had cleaned all his laundry.

He ended up in his own style, which was a comforting thought, with a simple, stark white tee, black jean-like pants that hung loosely but fit perfectly to his waist, a problem with his own pants, and all of the clothing felt almost too clean to suit him. He finished it off with a red-plaid jacket, one of three in the bottom drawer that was insanely soft and, when he looked, Will found the orvis tag, a pure cotton content that was warm to the touch. As he looked into the mirror image of himself the empath came to the obvious conclusion, however creepy, that Hannibal knew him.

Beyond the facade and the curse and-or gift the doctor looked, to the point the man could pick out an entire wardrobe for Will that met an easy balance between them. A cheap look for his comfort but woven with no doubt only the finest fibers to, for some reason, pacify Hannibal. Will scratched at his skull, feeling uncomfortable as he snorted and turned away from the image to head back downstairs, but nowhere near as uncomfortable as when he reentered the kitchen to find Hannibal staring at him with an obsessive, possessive look in his eye. The doctor had stopped draining the spinach the moment Will had stepped off the stairs as Hannibal waited for him to reveal himself, smirking at Will before speaking to the embarrassed male when he did so.

"They suit you well Will." Hannibal murmured, only making Will's cheeks redder and leaving the male subconsciously stuck between pulling at his cuffs and trying not to damage the material with any movement.

"Thanks." Will grumbled, seating himself at the kitchen table and resolutely not looking in Hannibal's direction, making the mans smirk widen.

When he had heard Will returning to the kitchen, the doctor ceased any and all movement as he simply gazed at his Will, for the first time and as he would forever more be, surrounded by warmth and happiness and Hannibal. The doctor had chosen the clothing himself with extreme diligence to ensure Will would be comfortable no matter what he took, and that he would have an abundance of choices. The plaid jackets were soft to the touch and simply spoke of Will Graham, so Hannibal bought three and ordered several different styles from the designer to be shipped once fitted to the empaths measurements. He had the entire wardrobe sent to his home where Hannibal carefully folded and placed each article in its place himself long before Will had come to finally find them.

During the week he had been separated from his Will, Hannibal had spent his free time in that very room, sitting in the center of the bed, leaning against the headboard and reading his books as he imagined Will's scent spread around him. Now looking at the man it was clear he had been annoyed by his dreams, angrily tapping his foot as the empath waited for breakfast to be served. This was another thing that Hannibal hoped to solidify in Wills mind to become a tradition of sorts.

"What is the matter." Hannibal asked as he drizzled hollandaise over an egg, barista sausage, spinach and potatoe mixture, not unlike the very first meal he had ever cooked for his Will but with far more showmanship.

"Hmm? Nothing." Will replied lowly and far too quickly to be honest.

Hannibal said nothing, instead bringing over the dish and setting it before Will, before setting two forks down as well as a napkins for each of them. The empath was tense, reaching for his plate like they would then head into the dining room, but Hannibal was far more interested in continuing with the domestic atmosphere.

"Did you sleep well Will?" Hannibal asked, killing two birds with one stone as he both distracted Will from moving while quietly encouraged the empath to speak.

"...yeah." Will replied after a long pause.

Hannibal raised an eyebrow at that in disbelief, but Will refused to speak further so Hannibal took an educated guess as he ate. "You seemed to be thrashing about in your sleep, more attempts to evade the Stag perhaps."

"...N-no," Will murmured back, giving up any attempt to hide his feelings from the doctor, "It- I was trapped."

"Where?" Hannibal genuinely asked, as Will had not mentioned that before, attempting to decipher it himself from the narrowed eyes of the thinking empath.

"This cave thing, more like it's lair." Will shifted his eyes to reassure himself he was not seeing stalking shadows before eating if only to placate the chef staring at him.

"What do you know of this 'lair'." Hannibal reverted to his kind demands, the action becoming an endearing motion to Will as the man attempted to navigate his own treacherous mind.

"Nothing and I don't want to know anything. It wants me to- I don't know, go willingly or something..." Will trailed off, unable to decrypt his own unconsciousness no matter how he tried, sighing yet again at the trouble it brought him awake or asleep.

"And what danger is there in following if you do not fear the Stag Will." Hannibal took a bite but quickly took notice of Will's silence, the male completely still as he gazed off, so the doctor called for his attention gently, "Will."

Will snapped back, nodding and eating but not saying another word, and Hannibal came to an unexpected conclusion.

"You're afraid."

Will snorted and mumbled a low, "..no," but did not look at him and began to eat quicker.

"What happened Will?" Hannibal asked of his Will in hopes the gesture would loosen the empaths tongue.

"It's nothing- it... I couldn't leave, no. It won't let me go." Will thought aloud, supplying Hannibal with his own inner thoughts on the matter. "It's never done that before..."

"Nor has the Stag ever physically harmed you, correct?" Hannibal was careful not to include mentally, for he could not say his presence had not altered his Will's psyche, but that was only fair in his mind considering the affect his Will had on his own.

"...no." Will accepted.

"What is it you fear Will." The doctor and his empath continued eating as they conversed like it was mere small-talk.

"I'm not-" Will stopped himself from the obviously untrue statement and sighed before confessing, "I just- I'm afraid of whats going to happen if I follow it, and of what'll happen if I say no... Well I can't say no. It's a choice between staying like I am now, like I'm under it's thumb, or finding some way to outsmart it..." he murmured, eyes and hands twitching at the sight of the doctor staring at him, "...or something."

Hannibal smirked at that, hiding the motion behind the facade of wiping his face with a napkin before he continued. "Do you believe it will harm you if you refuse it Will."

"I honestly don't know anymore, but it has this other side to it." Will huffed in frustration gesturing around as he spoke. "It's almost like there's this person out there in the real world that's the full person. I can't see the real human being, but I still know them and I can't connect the two sides like I did Hobbs. I know the ripper is smart, he's playing with the entirety of the justice department with no fear or hesitation, whenever he feel's like he's justified in killing he does, no matter the law or the obstacles in his way. But when I see them in my head there's two sides there as well, the killer and the mask it wears. I- the killer, its just unhinged and unfocused on anything but the next kill, and the mask is like it's own person, letting open the cage for its murdering self with this complete clarity I can't understand." The empath rambled as he ate, elbow on the table to facilitate the easy gripping of his curls as he finished his thought and Hannibal would have been offended at the action were it anyone but his Will.


	14. Chapter 14

"There's three of them." Will explained. "The killer, the stag, and the mask to the rest of the world and until I can see the connection I can't tell anything about the actual man. I know what it shows to me but can't understand the killer or even fathom it's disguise in the real world, with seemingly no effort whatsoever."

Instead the doctor listened intently to the words, linking together more pieces of the males seemingly twisted ramblings with his own knowledge of the rarely discussed Stag and the never spoken of other half, locking them away for further consideration as he preened at how well his Will knew him. "What do you know of it Will."

Will thought on that until his plate was clear, "I think it's lonely."

Hannibal stopped chewing his own last bite at that and looking to Will's scrunched up, sympathetic face, made the doctor's heart skip a beat as he took in the empathy that his Will held for him.

"Lonely?"

The empath nodded at that, the pair picking up their plates and moving to the sink where Hannibal took his position and began cleaning the dishes, Will leaned back against the counter.

"Its been alone for so long, almost acts like a child, but it's dangerous even when it tries to hide it."

"How so?" Hannibal asked as he passed another plate, smirking when Will turned to put the dish in its place without any needed direction.

"It has these claws," Will raised his own hands up for affect, "but it hides them from me, like it's afraid it'll hurt me. It actually tries to answer my questions where the Stag just kind of sits there and waits for me to get whatever it is trying to say and it..." the empath trailed off.

"What, Will?"

"I don't know, it knows something about something... about me?" Will questioned himself, unable to come to any defining conclusion and instead focusing back on Hannibal.

"What questions did you ask of the ripper?" Hannibal asked, slightly amused at the prospect of answering those very questions without Will's knowledge.

Will laughed at that, "Uhmm, What the fuck do you want? Stuff like that I guess. I mean, its not like it answers it just makes these noises. It had this rock thing though that glowed and when I asked it wrote out 'A. Ye Ming Zhu'. "

"Thank you for the food Hannibal." Will added, making the man in question smirk lightly at Will's own slight form of distraction as they finished the dishes. "Do you know what that is?"

"A. Ye Ming Zhu." Hannibal thought long before finally answering, "I believe I just may."

The doctor led the empath to his library, far more extensive and consisting of far rarer books than in his office, offering the other his desk before moving through the layers upon layers of shelves to pull out a relatively new looking novel. Opening it and fluttering through the pages, Hannibal stopped on a page and presented the book to his Will, reading it himself when the male refused to touch the possible artifact.

"Ancient Ye Ming Zhu is better known as the Dragon Pearl, but literally translates to "night bright pearl" from it's Chinese origin. Ye Ming Zhu is a family of glowing Rare Earth gems, crystals, and minerals which glow when activated by heat, Qi, and sunlight. Ye Ming Zhu has been revered as an 'Imperial Treasure Stone' in China, for millennia, Ye Ming Zhu is one of the Middle Kingdom's greatest secrets, deepest mysteries and most priceless treasures. Ancient Ye Ming Zhu is extremely rare and expensive, a family of gems and minerals found in the ground with the ability to luminesce. Most commonly found as fluorite, it can be clear or opaque. It can also be found as sapphire, ruby, topaz, emerald, alexandrite, jade, opal, garnet, spinel, tektite or meteor, and even diamond." Hannibal finished, looking to Will who was busy thinking about what the connection was to the creature.

"It's...giving me a gift?" Will asked, looking at Hannibal with panic.

The doctor smiled in return, his Wills genius brain working far past them both and when he spoke, it was for himself as well. "A rare, unique gift Will."

Will then huffed and smirked himself, Hannibal tilting his head slightly and waiting for the empath to notice.

"It's mocking me..." The empath trailed off.

"I would disagree. You just spoke of the ripper as though it held the mind of a child. Do you believe this creature is capable of mocking your own gift."

"I- I don't know." Will answered shakily, far more fearful of the creature now as well as the Stag, "But the Stag is."

"You were not speaking to the stag, that is only one facet of the ripper, do they come together."

"No, always one or the other, never both."

"Then you must separate the two from each other to understand them in relation to each other." Hannibal spoke, the pair heading out onto the veranda to take a seat outside.

"I get their relationship, the Stag manipulates and follows me around and likes to try and make me come to it, the ripper was just happy when I looked at it." Will twitched, feeling the wish for a drink as it was far easier to discuss such matters when plastered, despite it being so early in the morning.

"And what about those actions links to each other."

"They don't, that's the problem. There's something else, the thing that makes one switch to another and I don't see it, can't see it."

"Hm, a third party in control of both. Why would the most violent and dangerous of these give you such a gift." Hannibal considered his Will carefully as he did not know in this case, as with most, how the empath would answer.

"I-Pfft-" Will broke out into a half-laugh before continuing more seriously, "It wants me to trust it."

"Trust, and what else." The doctor urged, seeing easily when the empath held back from him.

"Nothing, it's just- It was dark, but it gave me the mung zhu-"

"Ye Ming Zhu." Hannibal corrected lightly.

"Yeah, whatever, the ye ming zhu. It was trying to make me.. comfortable."

"Then what is there to fear Will."

Will snorted, looking directly into the doctors eyes as he spoke. "I've come too far, and I know too much. At this point, whatever it is, whoever he is won't let me go back, even if they don't try and force me forward."

Hannibal smiled at that in a challenge. "Are you so easily led Will?"

The empath looked around and shuffled slightly in his seat, a strong grip on the cuff of Hannibal's gifted sweater when he replied with finality, "No. I'm not and it doesn't know me as well as it thinks if it believes I'll just walk the path it lays for me."

The intense, near dark look in his eyes made Hannibal mentally shudder in anticipation, looking over the scene of Will in his rightful place and answering with a smile. "Good."

After that, Hannibal decided to change the subject to a lighter conversation if only to make certain Will would not associate such discussion with their sessions, not that they were ever that formal anyways.

"So Will, what have you planned for the day."

"Uhm..." Will had to think about that, disconnecting from the dysfunction that was his mind when left alone, "I guess just gonna work on the engine, hang out with the dogs."

"A relaxing day well earned." Hannibal nodded in approval, leading Will back through the house into the living room.

"What are you doing?" Will asked the doctor in response when nothing else came to mind.

"I shall be working with a colleague on some research he has been working on regarding some of my own contributions back when I was studying the field." Hannibal spoke, purposefully not looking at his Will as he did so.

"Oh, thats interesting..." The empath trailed off, looking between the painting by Hannibal's ancestor and the man himself, finally huffing as he forced himself to say, "Well, I should go... feed the dogs and.. yeah."

"Well then, I shall return your clothing at our next session then." The doctor replied easily, not commenting on Wills obviously nervous attitude as he led the man to the door and grabbed the empath's jacket for him.

As Will was about to head out the door, his foot froze mid-step and, making a decision quicker than he could talk himself out of it, he spun around to face the other, looking away from the man while he spoke.

"I... Do you want to come for dinner?"

Hannibal laid a hand upon his shoulder and waited until he looked up to answer with that classically light smile, "I would be delighted, thank you for the invitation, Will."

" 'k... I just don't think I can cook anything like you so-" Will started but was cut off quickly.

"No need, Will. It is my pleasure to do so. Would six be acceptable for you?"

"Uhmm, yeah..." Will was going to say that Hannibal didn't have to do that but found the option to be the best of all possible outcomes, the image of burning pots and pans coming to mind. "Ok, guess I'll see you then."

The empath fiddled for another moment before leaning forward and, without looking, placed a light peck on the doctors cheek before nearly running out the door, trying and failing to overlook the fact that the door had not closed behind him meaning Hannibal was most likely watching him essentially run away like some virgin teenager. He didn't look up until he had driven up to the road and, as he turned to look for traffic took notice of the mans door, still open in his rear view mirror, the doctor himself standing in the doorway and watching him leave.

By the time he had gotten back to the house, Will was mentally exhausted from the overthinking the hour long drive had afforded him. He checked on the dogs, filling their bowls and wedging open the front door to allow them easy access to the outside fields which they all took advantage of save Winston, sitting calmly and watching him move around the house in a restless manner until he finally lay back in a huff. Will sat there for a minute, maybe two before he could no longer stay still and moved into the workroom to continue his new project, removing his new clothing and changing into some more suitable attire for the task. As the dogs flitted in and out of the room Winston remained a constant at his side, resting in the corner and only lifting his head when Will moved around the engine for a new angle. A pile of dirty fabric was in the corner, odd pieces of cloth too torn or full of holes to be useful covering the body and instead were put to better use cleaning out old plugs and tubes.

The room was in the back of the house and, without windows, the light was constantly on, leaving Will with no gauge for time, and when he finally checked his watch it read five thirty on the dot. Will leaped up and stretched out his back before he made his way into the living room and immediately moved up for a shower after taking notice of the oil practically covering him. When the empath re-emerged, he put back on the clothing he had been gifted and took a seat on his couch to await the other mans arrival, a total of fifteen minutes according to his watch.

Will spent this time between checking the device, distracting himself by petting Winston and wiping away as much fur as he could from the soft cloth, though the material was already covered beyond anything he could consider suitable to the doctor. The empath sighed as he pulled at the pieces he could see, keeping himself from running out on the porch like a child when he heard the rumble of tires crunching over gravel, signifying the doctors approach. Will waited until he heard the porch steps creaking before he moved to open the door for Hannibal, the man taking the opening and heading directly for the kitchen with a bag in tow.

"Your clothing as promised. How was your day Will." Hannibal lightly demanded of him, but Will simply followed behind without a thought to it and watched as the man moved around his kitchen with familiarity.

"Good, fine I guess." He answered uncommittedly, scratching at his curls. "How 'bout you?"

"It was well, thank you for asking. You may continue your work if you like, I will call for dinner." And with that, Hannibal turned to perform his art, rolling out ingredients brought with him as well as taking the items he had been slowly filling Will's kitchen with for his own use as he worked.

"Oh, um ok, you sure?"

"Quite." Hannibal quipped back without looking, and so Will wandered off to do as he was bid.


	15. Chapter 15

It was when Will entered the work-space that he realized both that he was wearing fancy clothing he didn't want the smell of oil to seep into let alone the potential stains, as well as the fact that Winston, who had followed behind him every step not minutes ago was now gone. Shrugging it off Will focused on the issue at hand and took a seat in the corner opposite the rags to wipe out some plugs he had removed completely from the engine. Two were far too worn to be useful but the rest were fine, Will only noticing the single smudge on his gifted sweater once he was finished with the task, and panicking in his attempt to scrub it off despite knowing it would only make the stain set in deeper.

"Shit shit shit..." Will murmured as he scrubbed, running a hand down his face as he needlessly struggled with the definitely ruined material.

The sound of a soft knock had the empath shooting up from his seated position and shoving the cloth he had been using into his breast pocket, the long fabric covering the stain as he looked to the other man.

"Dinner is ready Will, and how fairs your project." Hannibal looked to the essentially cleaned up engine as he spoke, turning on the light to aid Will's vision beyond the lamp that had been left on the floor, the shade having been previously ripped off and thrown somewhere.

"Good- I... It's good." Will stammered, gaze fluttering back and forth between the doctor, the engine, and the cuffs of his so very soft sweater.

"Will." Hannibal called gently, reaching forward to pull out the cloth in his empaths pocket and wipe the side of his face, taking notice of the stain Will had tried so very hard to hide from him. "You are truly in your element. Your hobby, your fur and oil-stained face and clothing, it truly speaks of you Will."

Will would have dropped to his knees in apology if he wasn't already seated and the doctor hadn't paralyzed him, both with the observation and a hand on his shoulder as his face was thoroughly wiped clean of any bit of oil.

So, instead Will grumbled a low, "Sorry" for having ruined the mans gift to him, looking up to the doctor when he laughed, actually laughed at the comment.

"There is no need Will. In fact, I find it suits you far better this way." Hannibal leaned down and placed a kiss on the empaths cheek before turning the man towards the door and guiding him back into the kitchen.

"Ah, there you are." Will spoke to Winston, the little dogs tail wagging as he was addressed, and the empath could see that Winston was more focused on Hannibal than himself at the moment, Will choosing to share his own observation with the doctor. "He likes you."

"One out of seven then, at least when not prompted by treats." The man replied with a smile, Will laughing at that himself as he took his seat.

"A light cream soup for this evening, with beef roast, mushroom, carrot, onion, celery, and dashes of spice." Hannibal presented the bowl to him, an artists arrangement fixed with a stem of rosemary in the center of the dish.

A spoon and napkin were placed on the table next, followed in turn by a second dish for the doctor before Hannibal sat across from his Will and watched, in what had become a new hobby of his own, the man tuck into and finish the meal prepared for him at record speeds. Small rounds of toast were on a plate between the two and, as Will reached without looking for one his fingers brushed along Hannibal's. Looking up he found the man in question looking at him with a fond smile, taking another bite of his meal as he traced over his hand for a few seconds before grasping a toast round and continuing to eat. Will gulped down the bite in his mouth before following suit, smiling back in pure reaction as he shoved an entire piece into his mouth and munched uncomfortably, pointedly looking away from the doctor as he did so.

"Its really good." Will said as he ate, proud to find he finished only a few spoonfuls before Hannibal as he rose to take the place at the sink before the other man could reach it.

"Will, allow me-" But this time it was Hannibal who was cut off, his Will making a sweeping motion to his side and filling the sink with water.

"No need, I got it this time. My kitchen after all." And Hannibal couldn't object to the confidence so easily presented to him from the frail shell, so instead he took his place next to Will and diligently wiped dry each dish as it was passed to him.

When they finished the pair headed into the living-room and sat, Will uncomfortably twitching in his seat as Hannibal calmly watched the unnerved man. The empath attempted three times to nonchalantly wipe at the stain in his sweater before Hannibal reached over and held his Wills hand gently, all signs of the stain of the detectives grip finally gone and leaving behind only perfect flesh.

"You needn't worry about the clothing Will, as it is now yours."

"You don't have to, I mean I guess you probably wouldn't want it back now anyways..." Will trailed off, only for the words to be picked up by the other man.

"Not after having seen how well they fit you, in every manner of speaking." Hannibal smirked at the blush rising in Will's cheeks, leaning in to kiss at the soft skin lightly and only heightening both Wills embarrassment as well as his own amusement.

"I..ugh. W-what are you doing tomorrow?" Will asked, mainly to change the subject as he ran the hand not in Hannibal's grasp through his curls.

"I have nothing planned as of yet." The doctor whispered to the empath, not relenting on his grip and even drawing the appendage closer so he could lay another kiss where the detective had so carelessly damaged his Will.

When Will attempted to pull back Hannibal held firm as he continued. "And you, Will."

"I don't know, maybe fish assuming there's no murderers showing up." Will replied non-commitedly, not usually thinking so far ahead and realizing he had never had the luxury of doing so.

"I should hope not then." Hannibal agreed, finally giving voice to the non-stop twitching of the other male and releasing the mans arm. "Uncomfortable?"

"Uh.. N-no." And Will had to turn away from that cringe-worthy self-performance, adding a more natural sounding, "Nope."

"Hm," Hannibal answered unconvinced, "perhaps more engine work would set you at ease."

"Yeah, maybe." And now Will was the one who seemed unconvinced, but stood and moved to follow the suggestion anyways, the doctor close behind him.

Hannibal turned on the light as Will took a seat on the floor and dragged his tools over to his side, turning on the lamp as well. Will made an attempt to remove his sweater to at least save it from further destruction but Hannibal, as he passed, pulled the material back up and ran a hand gently through his curls, the empath blushing lightly but keeping the material on . He figured it best to dirty this than the still pristine shirt underneath anyways. When the doctor took a seat on the floor as well, leaning back against the wall, Will became acutely aware of the man staring at him and, when his fingers slipped for the third time thanks to the distraction he sighed, tossing the wrench down.

"Do you not like, have a book or something?" The empath asked, feeling his annoyance grow when the man smirked at him.

"Not at the moment, I shall remember to bring one in the future."

Will felt his cheeks redden at the thought of this becoming a regular thing, but continued. "Well you can't just sit there and stare at me."

Hannibal's smirk grew again. "What would you suggest instead Will?"

The empath ground his teeth and looked away, now knowing for certain that the other male was teasing him for his own pleasure.

"I don't know... Your relative was an artist, go draw something."

Hannibal considered that and gave a simple nod. "I think I shall."

The man then got up and left the room without another word. Will was about to yell after him the location of the actual items needed when he was again reminded of the fact that the man probably knew his house better than he did after having cleaned it top to bottom and simply sighed again. He focused back on his work, feeling with relief the weight of the doctors heavy gaze lift from his shoulders. When he heard the front door open and close Will assumed the male to have gone to draw in the field, but glancing up he found Winston in the doorway looking at him, going back to his work and thinking nothing of it. His head jerked back up a moment later. Winston was here and the dogs, which he could hear in the kitchen, were not surrounding him.

"Shit." Was all he said as Hannibal re-entered the room a moment later, and Will could only beg. "No, not me."

Under Hannibals arm was a piece of ten by ten inch wood paneling from the outermost layer of his house, the new ones having been left in a stack on the porch for Will to eventually replace the ones falling off the hundred year old structure, as well as several sheets of paper. In his hand were two pencils and a pen, and on his face a wide smirk as he retook his seat against the wall.

"And why not?" The doctor asked, settling himself on the floor and placing the panel against his raised knee, followed by the sheets of paper.

His Will was so very entertaining at the moment and, more importantly, Hannibal felt he wanted to store away that never before witnessed image of Will working with a, more or less, single minded focus on the engine before him, tongue stuck out between clenched lips as the empath twisted another bolt back into place. The prospect of that image holding a blush and twitchy fingers slipping every so often was simply of extra benefit to the doctor, especially when the object of his affection served him the opportunity to immortalize the moment on a silver platter, albeit unknowingly.

"Because- You just can't." Will whined at him, making his smirk arise again.

"Very well." He said, laying the items to the side and fully staring at his Will once more until the man reached both hands up to scratch at his curls with a cry of frustration, unnoticed lines of oil now back on his face.

"Can't you do something that doesn't involve me?" His Will asked exasperatedly.

Hannibal's own eyes narrowed at that in complete seriousness, answering simply. "No."

After much thought Will decided upon the option with the least staring, extremely unwilling and feeling the decision would bite him in the ass but refocusing on the engine with a huff of annoyance that only grew as he took notice of Winston also staring at him, tail wagging in easy contentment.

"...Fine," he cringed, "...do your drawing then."


	16. Chapter 16

Hannibal did as he was bid, feeling it best to allow his Will's mind to relax a bit as well as having already gotten what he wanted in the first place. He raised the panel and his pencil to begin drawing the man, for the first time having the image before him to work from rather than just a memory. He traced out the edges on the piece, carpet fading into nothingness and, in the center the hunched over male with lines of ink on his face. He drew the mans hands in mid twist of a screwdriver buried deep in the engine, Wills eyes focusing solely on keeping the piece steady and hands rough with stains and blisters.

The curls were drooping over the males brow, his teeth biting down on a lip and sock clad toes curled into the carpet for more grip in his cross-legged position. When Hannibal made another gaze at his reference he found green eyes meeting his own in a flash as the male turned them away as quickly as possible and continued with another screw like nothing had happened. Hannibal only smirked as he continued his own work, pulling out his pen and beginning to darken in the image, finding his Will looking at him three more times in quick glances at his face, no doubt intensified in his own utter dedication to the drawing and the drawing alone.

"Finished." Hannibal murmured, mostly to gain his Wills attention again as over two hours had already passed by in complete silence.

"Hm?" Will gazed up, three more stains on his sweater and a dazed look on his oil streaked face.

"Would you like to see Will?" The doctor asked with his light quirk of a smile, holding the page away from Will's eyes.

"Uhnm... sure." His Will answered with suspicion and slowly moved up to his knees so he could crawl over.

Hannibal first handed Will a clean cloth to wipe his oily hands with before presenting the picture itself, pride filling him at the appraising gasp of his Will over his work. With a smirk he reached over with another piece of fabric to once again wipe the oil from his empath's face.

"Well, a cursory drawing at best after only two hours, but the best that can be done with such tools."

But Will was awe-struck by the amount of detail and skill, not even noticing when Hannibal started to wipe his cheeks then his brow and, as the material came over his nose, all he could do was smile with embarrassment at the sight of the streaks of oil on his two dimensional doubles face. He took special notice of Winston's head and front paws just on the edge of the art piece, quietly staring at his back, the dog waiting as he usually did for him with those bowl-like eyes that simply screamed Winston. He could see Hannibal's point as well, as the now thrice stained sweater, though he only now noticed the new stains, was something that kind of screamed him.

"This is amazing..." Was all he could say, huffing more for himself than the other, "shit its really stained now."

"As it should be." Hannibal replied, wiping at his curls as well before dropping the material and leaning forward, hand holding the back of his Wills head, to place a kiss on his empath's brow. "I have been told that amazing works require equally amazing subjects."

"...here, I don't want to ruin it." Will said, a blush rising to his cheeks as he got up and raced out of the room, only to return a moment later with a large picture framing some distant relatives photo, in the midst of removing it's back.

"Will." Hannibal murmured in adoration, realizing what his Will wanted.

"What? I can keep it right?" He asked hopefully, hands having momentarily stopped fiddling with the frame.

"Of course. I would be honoured if you did so." The doctor spoke with complete and utter sincerity, in awe of his Will.

The empath pulled off the back then, kneeling in front of Hannibal and ripping out the old, never looked at family photo to replace it with the drawing, centering it perfectly before replacing the back and holding it up for the doctor to approve. He then stood and walked out of the room, Hannibal following soon after, flicking off the lamp followed by the wall fixture and carrying out the rest of the art supplies to be put away as he did so. Will was in the living room, straightening the frame on the wall with an extreme focus, pulling away to look at it and patting Winston's head before he held the dog up to see as well.

"See bud, there you are, immortalized in art." He laughed lightly, dropping the squirming mass of fur and making the rounds to his other dogs to pet or scratch them all.

Hannibal watched the proceedings from a corner of the room, fully taking in his empath within the mans element even as he placed the panel back on the porch where he had found it and took note of the stars already peaking out in the skies beyond the city limit. He felt endeared by his choice to add Winston into the image, even if the act was only to make Will less embarrassed when it was presented to him and moved behind the empath.

"One time thing." His Will called to him, making the doctor smirk from his position.

"I highly doubt that." He spoke, as compromising as he could be while remaining honest. "In any case, it is getting fairly late Will."

"Oh, yeah I guess it is." Will muttered, finally checking his watch. "Fuck, it's like ten thirty..."

Will looked outside then at the male then at his socked feet, Hannibal seeing the struggle and intervening for times sake.

"Would you allow me to stay for the evening, Will." He said the words Will could not say himself, softly and gently.

His Will opened and closed his mouth several times before simply nodding, eyes still locked on the mans shoes. Hannibal reached up to raise the empath's chin, speaking only once their gaze connected.

"Thank you Will."

Will nodded at that too, not trusting himself to speak. Hannibal leaned in to press their foreheads together for a second, smiling softly as he always did before leaning down to connect their lips fully. The feel of his Wills flesh beneath his own was heaven itself, Hannibal running his free hand up into those curls and grasping them tightly, Will letting out a gasp and fingers twitching against the biceps he was holding. Pushing the male up against the wall, the frame tilting at the force, the doctor leaned in further to fully taste his Will's lips.

The empath's sigh and his eyes fluttering closed were enough of a sign for Hannibal to continue, dipping his tongue into Wills open mouth and running the appendage over every inch he could reach before swirling it around Will's own, drawing the other male into the dance. He tasted every dip and crevice and bitten-at cheek and, despite the intensity, Hannibal remained completely silent, distracting his Will with his touch as much as possible before the man began to come back to himself and pushed lightly at his arms.

It was a light push, easy to ignore and yet Hannibal pulled back near immediately, taking a few lasting swirls over his Wills tongue and two soft licks against the males lips before disconnecting, moving to kiss along Wills cheeks and heading down to his collar bone. Will let out a deep moan when Hannibal sucked just below his chin, the doctor caching the location away for later as he nipped the spot once more and continued his way down, only to have Will force him back yet again.

"Wait-" Will gasped, pushing the larger male back and regaining his breath before moving to speak, "I..."

"It is ok Will." Hannibal said simply, pulling back fully before turning the male around and moving him towards the stairs without hesitation, only to find the empath dragging his feet. "Yes Will?"

"I- I just... Come on." He said, grabbing at Hannibal's wrist and dragging the completely willing man up the stairs behind him.

Will led Hannibal into his room and moved around the doctor so he could push the male towards the bed. "I mean, if you want... you can..."

Hannibal smirked at his Will over his shoulder, leaning his cheek down upon one of the hands pushing him forward when the empath did not look at him. "I would be delighted."

Will drew back and headed into his bathroom with a grumble of embarrassment, making Hannibal smirk wider as he reset the tangled mass of blankets on the bed and removed his outer layers until he was once again in nothing but his shirt and pants, the rest of his attire folded upon Wills dresser. He then entered the bed and awaited the return of his Will, smirking yet again when he heard the quiet mumblings of the empath through the bathroom door.

"Fuck. God dammit." Will swore as lowly as he could, brushing his teeth harshly and glaring at his image in the mirror as he asked himself why he was doing this, promptly growling and thinking of something different to not have to answer that question before swearing again under his breath.

Finishing and looking at himself yet again, he removed the new clothing and threw on the pajama pants on the towel railing, moving to pull on his shirt too but finding the material stinking and stained from nights spent tossing in sweat. He considered the fact that maybe this was not the best option. That Hannibal, let alone himself, probably would not sleep well with him squirming all night and decided, as he had already offered the bed, to simply sneak out and sleep on the couch instead, or in a field or wherever he would wind up once the doctor fell asleep. With a nod to his mirror self Will exited the room, shuffling over to his dresser and quickly pulling on a shirt before climbing unceremoniously into the bed, all without looking at the other male.

Hannibal waited patiently for the empath to emerge, staring deeply when the door opened to reveal a bare chested Will shuffling over to flick off the light and pull on a shirt as fast a possible, Hannibal storing the image of taught, pale flesh hidden from daylight away for his future drawings. But he did nothing beyond the light smirk at the sight of his Will tumbling into the bed and looking away from him in the silence. Will turned his head to bid him goodnight and Hannibal took the opportunity, as his Will was not really looking, to recapture the empath's lips, drawing the male closer and lightly caressing the spot below his chin with a thumb as he ran his tongue lightly over his Will's lips and making the man sigh into the gentle lip lock.

Hannibal drew back, once again pressing their foreheads together and whispered, "Goodnight my Will," against the empath's lips.

"Mhm. g'night..." Will responded, laying his head down to be followed by Hannibal.

The doctor lay on his side, staring deeply into his Wills eyes for the few moments the empath kept them open and ran them over the rest of his face when those green orbs shut. His Will was pretending to sleep, going so far as to slightly open his mouth to take deeper breaths but the tightly pressed closed eyes and clenched up body spoke volumes. So, with a smirk, the doctor reached over to gently trace over the males eye sockets, whispering.

"Precious Will, the image of perfection."

He then ran the fingers along the pointed nose, leaning his own forward to inhale the empath's curls before following the curve of his Wills parted lips.

"You smell of nature and fire, and taste of purity."

When Will twitched and made an attempt to turn away Hannibal held fast and drew the empath closer, an arm wrapping around his waist as the doctor laughed lightly, nuzzling into those curls and completely encasing his jittery Will in his arms.

"Precious Will."

Only then did he relax, waiting patiently for Wills body to eventually grow tired and finally fall asleep in his arms, precisely where he belonged. His Will was truly a gorgeous creature, awake or asleep and Hannibal took the time afforded to him to fully take in what would be and really already was his, using his hands to explore in lieu of moving from his comfortable position. A lithe frame that felt so very natural in his arms, soft, sensitive skin that tickled the sleeping empath with his every sweeping caress and, perhaps best of all, the somewhat obscured image through the curls his face remained buried in of the male with hands pulled up to unconsciously clutch at the doctors shirt, literally curled into his grasp. Hannibal smirked at that, finally moving somewhat so he could whisper in the other mans ear, darker, sweeter words.

"You will be amazing my Will, pure perfection. Do not fight the inevitable, and fear not, I will guide you. My beautiful Will, we shall make such art together. Together, my Will."

Hannibal nuzzled back into that mass of curls and drifted off as well.


	17. Chapter 17

_Will sighed. Waking up in the cavern was proving to be just as if not more annoying than waking up sprinting like his life depended on it. Will felt there should have been some comfort in the fact that he now was not given the option to run, when it was becoming so very clear that the tormentor of his mind was toying with him. Running a hand through his hair Will looked up at the purring creature, clearly happy at his return and forced himself to speak._

 _"I want to see the Stag."_

 _The creature bristled at that, cooing questioningly._

 _"I just do." Will replied, the thing unhappily whining, but the empath held firm to the vague answer._

 _Finally the thing stood up and unwillingly stepped around Will, dragging its clawed feet along the ground to prolong the move. When it was fully behind him the creature pounced upon his back, the empath freezing in terror that the beast might drag him down with it but it simply curled up against him, nuzzling away and pulling him deeper into the one-sided embrace. Will heard the sound of clicking hooves and the creature purring into his back whined one last time before it disappeared down the caves depths. Seconds later, the racks shadow could be seen in the dim light. Whether it was morning or night Will had no idea, but barely took notice beyond the fact that the light framed around the beast he had called for, entering the cavern and looking at him with thick, bloody eyes._

 _Will swallowed his nervousness and spoke. "Thanks."_

 _The beast rumbled lightly, leaning forward to snuffle at his curls lightly and drawing back, waiting for Will to continue._

 _"I- I know that your the one who gave me this." Will held up the glowing stone. "Why?"_

 _The beast snorted at that, laying its body down as though preparing for a long talk and staring at Will._

 _"You did give me this right?" Will asked, scratching at his curls and feeling suddenly empowered as the beast gave a firm nod in agreement._

 _"Why?" The beast chortled and Will continued. "Right, yes or no questions."_

 _Will thought for a moment, clutching at the cuff of his sleeve and asking, without looking, "You're never gonna stop are you."_

 _Again a firm nod was seen in his peripheral vision, Will sighing deeply at that._

 _"And I don't get a choice."_

 _The beast snuffled at his chest and moving up to his cheek before pulling back, the only answer he'd be given on the subject._

 _"So I'm essentially a captive you won't shove around. Great. Just waiting for me to give up then I guess."_

 _The beast stomped down a hoof at that, drawing Wills attention back to those dark eyes, not so much glaring as determined as they stared at him, though the anger simmering below the murderous Stag was evident._

 _"Well what the fuck then, what is it? You want some kind of toy to play around with?" Will ground out angrily himself, only growing when the beast seemed suddenly amused by the statement, swaying its rack back and forth in a calm 'no'._

 _"Then what... I don't understand." The empath finally descended into sadness, dropping to his knees out of sheer exhaustion and letting out a sob as the creature leaned in once more, standing to reach the curled up male._

 _"Stop..." Will choked out, shoving the furry jaw of the beast away from him twice before growing angry._

 _Kneeling up, he shoved harder at the mass, fingers instantly chilled the moment he drew away but he simply clenched them into fists and glared up at the creature staring coolly at him, remaining where he had pushed. That gave Will an idea, the empath immediately lowering himself and letting out a fake sob to draw the thing closer. He allowed the beast to snuffle at his curls as he carefully turned away, drawing the beast with him as he turned it as far away from the exit that he could before shoving the thing again. He used the momentum to fully stand, dashing to the left of the creature and towards the opening, lifting a hand to reach for it and, just as his fingertips brushed the dimming twilight, Will felt himself get slammed into the caverns wall._

 _He could hear the grind of rock and dirt all around him, clenching his eyes shut as he anticipated the feeling of being impaled and, for a moment, welcoming the escape when it all stopped. Will would have descended back into a mess of tears if not for the glare pointed his way, the empath unable to look away once his eyes connected with the angry red orbs of the beast not an inch away from impaling him. As it was, it simply encased his entire upper body within the grooves of its antlers and made certain of the males compliance before it pulled back, ripping out more rubble and leaving an ugly mark in the cavernous walls. Will was watched very closely as he dejectedly walked back to his spot, the creature only sitting once the empath was doing so._

 _As Will looked back up at the beast it's cool demeanor instantly returned, quelling the empath's equal mix of anger and regret. As if to console him it leaned forward and snuffled at his stomach once more, Will raising a palm and stroking it's fur down, sighing as he rested his elbow on his crossed leg and his chin upon the closed fist._

Hannibal woke twice that night due to Will, squirming around in his restless sleep to rise and wander as he normally did, but as much as the doctor enjoyed such wanderings he held firm until the movement ceased and he could once again fall asleep against the male, always whispering dark, caring words to the male before doing so. Words of praise and of their future, words of both love and obsession until the squirming subsided.

He had been tempted to allow Will to wander but instead just pulled the male closer, running his hands up and down the empath's back and smirking when the smaller nuzzled up into him with a sigh. Despite the fact that Hannibal would be up and moving at six every morning, this time he relaxed well into the morning with his Will, enjoying the sight of the empath during the golden hour as the younger male breathed into his neck lightly, and only slightly drawing back when the other began to stir, laying nose to nose as he awaited the empath to become fully conscious.

Green eyes fluttered open, followed by a yawn before the male simply shut them again, and a moment later they flashed wide open, Will staring into the doctors eyes in shock. He attempted to scramble back but found himself pulled in tighter instead, Hannibal laughing lowly as he held the squirming male closer and whispered into his ear, "Good morning Will," only releasing after a light kiss was given to the reddened appendage.

"...Morning?" Will spoke, asking himself more than he was responding to the other man still lying back in his bed, fully comfortable in the now rumpled shirt.

He looked over the man and out the window, verifying the word for himself and more shocked at the fact that he had really slept the entire night through and did not find himself awaking in any stranger places than he had fallen asleep in. He snapped back to reality when the older man rose from the bed, feeling embarrassed at the sight of the loosely dressed and ungroomed doctor.

Hannibal on the other hand felt rather euphoric at the attention as well as the blush rising upon the males cheeks in the glow of daylight. He lazily stepped over to the distracted empath and pulled him back in for a hug, laying a quick press of lips to the others forehead before speaking.

"Yes Will. Morning. Are you hungry?"

Will stammered and shuffled his bare feet when he realized how close the other had gotten without him noticing. It was becoming a fading annoyance that was increasingly unavoidable, Hannibal's intrusiveness in his space. At first it had only been done mentally and now physically as well. Despite this he quirked his lips up and answered, distracted nonetheless.

"...Sure."

The doctor nodded with a matching smile, drawing Wills head forward to press together their foreheads gently before pulling away fully and leaving the empath alone with his thoughts. The moment he was gone from the space, it was filled by the dogs all huddling for his Will's attentions.

Will let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in when the doctor moved down the stairs as he gave each of his companions a pet and scratch. Taking a look around his room left him subconsciously sucking in another breath as he took note of the items that did not belong to him so casually placed around. Hannibal's suit-coat was hung behind his door on a hook, the folded vest and crisp white socks were on his dresser and a pair of shiny shoes sat at the edge of the bed. Will swallowed at the knowledge that this was the least dressed, least groomed and least controlled he had ever seen the man, an image flashing before his eyes of the doctor wandering through his house with bare feet and unkempt hair before he shook it from his brain and moved to change. Feeling far more comfortable in his own cheap fabrics, Will made his way out of his bedroom and followed the delicious smell down into the kitchen where his discomfort once again spiked.

Hannibal was performing one of his edible symphonies, flipping a pan of something on the stove without looking, his focus on the drawer he had simultaneously opened to pull out a slotted spoon which was then used to stir the contents of the pan. Despite it's never ceasing amazement, Will was becoming more used to the sight. The image of a disheveled and barefooted Hannibal doing so, however, was another matter entirely. The low cough was more for clearing up his garbled feeling speech rather than drawing the doctor's attention, but the man turned to look at him anyway with a light smile as Will padded into the room and quickly took a seat if only to drag his eyes away from the other man.

"I believe I may have found a solution to your wanderings Will." Hannibal spoke with a smirk, laughing lightly at the blush that immediately formed on the other mans cheeks.

"Maybe I should just chain myself to the bed at night then." Will murmured morbidly, avoiding looking at the other completely as he twirled around a napkin.

"Well Will," the doctor reached down to lift his chin, suddenly locking their eyes in a deep stare, "that can be arranged as well."

The blush, only slightly beginning to fade now returned full force. Will attempted to pull back but his chin was held in place easily, the doctor leaning down far too slowly to be anything but a tease and engaging the other in a gentle lip lock before returning to his dish without another word. Hannibal opened the pre-heated oven and filled a pie plate with whatever had been in the pan, followed by a bowl of yellow liquid before placing it into the oven and taking the seat opposite Will. The doctor placed his arm upon the table, resting his cheek in his opened hand and reached out with the other to pull his Wills bangs from those gorgeous green orbs twitching in every direction but his own.

After five minutes of the silence Will sighed, the doctor flashing a smirk at the sign of defeat that was gone by the time the empath mustered enough nerve to look back at him.

"What." Will ground out through clenched teeth and feeling like plugging his ears to avoid hearing the answer.

"Nothing, simply admiring." Hannibal hummed. "It is rather rude of me, I apologize Will." He spoke, though he continued to stare and did not look the slightest bit sorry.

The empath turned away at that, only to have his head turned back.

"Truly, Will. You are something to be admired, loved, and treasured." The doctor finished, his thumb stroking over Wills cheek before allowing the male to once again draw back.


	18. Chapter 18

Once the pair had eaten the quiche, they moved into the living room to sit, Hannibal's arm wrapping around Will's shoulder in a firm grip. The dogs crowded around the empath's feet, the male in question smiling widely at the act and the image well worth the dry-cleaning bill Hannibal would end up paying. The two sat in the relative silence, the doctor watching Will interact with his companions for an hour before checking his watch and sighing himself as he was forced to pulled himself away.

"I should be leaving now Will." The doctor lifted the other males chin, turning it to face him and leaning in until he was a hairs breath away from the empath.

Wills eyes were clenched shut. His hands came to grab at the cuffs of his sweater as he held his breath in anticipation. After too long in this position he let out the breath as green orbs squinted open to find the male sitting there, staring at him with a light smile and waiting for him to lock their gaze. Except that even then he did not close the distance between them.

"Kiss me Will." Hannibal ordered.

Will blushed, closing his eyes and attempting to lean in but was stopped by the surprisingly strong grip on his chin.

"Open your eyes."

Will squirmed for a moment but followed the command anyway, opening his eyes fully and leaning forward to brush their lips together. Hannibal did nothing, leaving complete control to the other man and smirking into the lip lock when his Wills hands moved ever so slightly towards him on the couch. He released the empath's chin, wrapping the hand around to cradle the back of Will's skull and finally took lead of the kiss, shoving the male back down into the cushions.

The doctor swung over the other man's hips, placing one foot on the floor as he fully encased the empath's body with his own. His hand kept his Will's precious skull from hitting the arm rest, though the male in question seemed to be more focused on their lips, having remained connected throughout the move. Hannibal drew back for a singular breath before pulling the other back in, dipping his tongue into the orifice and swirling it around the other's once more. His other hand held one of Wills wrists, stroking his thumb over the soft skin as he engaged the empath's own tongue in play, even drawing the shy appendage into his own cavern for a moment.

Suddenly the doctor pulled back, kissing along his cheek to lick off the slight amount of drool leaking from Will's mouth and down his neck. Suckling at the soft skin so willingly opened to the doctor as his other hand still cradled Wills skull, Hannibal ran his thumb over that spot just beneath the empath's chin to make the man sigh in pleasure once more. This was followed by a loud moan as Hannibal bit down on the flesh he was sucking on, nipping at it twice and licking at the skin before laying a light kiss on the spot and pulling back to properly admire the, even more then usual, ruffled up empath. He smirked at the dazed look in his Wills eyes that faded to shock and embarrassment.

Will's blush returned full force as he fully took in the situation. Hannibal was kissing him again, and it seemed like it was something the other male was quite good at despite the fact that he had never seen the doctor with any partner before. As the man pulled back and Will came back to himself he realized Hannibal was staring at him with a dark promise in the man's smirking gaze, clearing his windpipe before he managed a response, if only to change the subject.

"I thought you had to go?" Will murmured, not knowing what else to say and immediately after struggled to find something to follow the statement with to make it seem less like he was trying to make the other leave.

Hannibal leaned back in, pressing their foreheads together and staring right into his eyes as he spoke. "You will have to release me then Will."

Green eyes widened and the blush practically covered his entire face as Wills eyes shifted and, while the doctor would not pull back enough for him to see, he could feel his hands clenching tightly at the soft material of Hannibal's shirt.

"S-sorry." He squeaked, pulling his hands back as quickly as possible, the impossible turning into reality when his blush rose even further at the doctors laugh.

"Don't be." Hannibal spoke with his light smile, pulling away fully as he went back up the stairs to grab his things and leaving the empath to his thoughts.

When he returned he was still just in his shirt with the other material flipped over his arm but shiny shoes once again in place. Will found himself sighing at the slight change, finding the look of an imperfect Hannibal Lector to be far more interesting than the controlled man he had known before.

The doctor came back to stand over Will, unmoved from his spot laying back on the couch but having lifted up his feet onto the cushions for more comfort.

"Your plans for the day Will." Hannibal asked, bending over to lessen the distance between them while running a hand through his hair to calm the volume sleep had provided the follicles.

Will opened his mouth to respond, the roll of uncertain shoulders already visible when the phone rang, both men looking at each other for a moment before Hannibal handed the device over from the coffee table. Will looked at the number and sighed before he answered, the doctor respectfully drawing away as he eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Will, we need you down by the docks. Got a body." Crawford began without waiting for Will to even say hello.

"Yeah, address?" Will answered, not bothering with any anger at the mans lack of awareness as he sat up fully.

"Got a car coming out for you, don't want you to be driving off the roads. Last time you were about to drop." The officers booming laugh echoed through the room, though the truth of the statement was actually closer than Crawford had realized.

Will glanced over to the doctor before sighing again. "I don't need an escort."

"Yeah well don't matter the roads out here are shit and we already have a line-up of cars a mile long so we don't need yours stuck in here all day too, I sent it out a while ago so they should be there soon. Oiy- KATZ GET DOWN THERE-" Jack's yell cut off as the call ended, Will flinching at the sound before he tossed the phone to his side.

"Fuck."

"Hm, Will I would be more than happy to drive you if you would prefer." Hannibal offered, coming to sit next to the empath and placing the mans phone back on the table instead.

Will snorted lightly at that. "Yeah, Crawford would love that. No its really fine, I just don't like feeling like Jack is having someone watching me all day is all."

"There is no need." Hannibal agreed. "Are you certain Will?"

"Yeah, thanks anyways but maybe you could give me a ride back?" Will answered, nervously shuffling his feet.

"Of course. Will." The doctor drew the others attention, leaning up to kiss at the mans forehead before continuing. "Have a good day."

The empath smiled up, giving a nod and murmuring lowly, "You too."

The pair then stood, Will following the other man out the door and to his car. He stepped back as the man placed his belongings into the vehicle, raising a hand to wave when the sound of rumbling gravel had him turning his head to a police car rolling down the driveway and stopping just to the side of Hannibal's. Will raised his hand further to block the glare from both shiny cars before the officer stepped out from inside.

"Detective Rishe." Hannibal greeted pleasantly, teeth grinding at the thought of this man once again being alone with his Will after the damage he had inflicted in their last encounter.

The man nodded at him, eyebrow raised at his presence that was quickly ignored when the detective looked at his Will with a look the doctor easily recognized as lust, making him feel an emotion he rarely felt, angry.

"Doc. Crawford sent me, we got a body and apparently they need you." The detective began with disdain, gesturing towards Will whos eyes narrowed at the man though he said nothing.

"Will." Hannibal spoke to break the look the two were sharing, gratified when his Wills gaze turned soft once it was reconnected with his own. "I will see you later today, call me when you are finished."

Will nodded, waving at the doctor before once again glaring at the other as he moved back inside to get ready himself.

"Detective, I would ask you to be more civil with Will." Hannibal suggested lightly, biting down the urge to place the qualifier of the empath being his Will for the moment and settling for a darker look pointed at the would-be rival.

"Sure doc, he's a china plate." The detective rolled his eyes, smirking at the doctor when the smile on his face turned sharper. "Seem a might touchy there about your patient."

Hannibal smirked back. "I would not mean to imply Will is fragile. Rather the opposite, in fact. I would, however, suggest that jealousy is unbecoming of a detective."

The man glared at him, both dropping the internal battle when Will re-emerged from the house, wedging open the door for the mass of dogs that came flying out and into the fields before walking over to the pair.

"Did I miss something?" Will asked, looking between the two for a moment before shrugging it off and looking to the doctor.

"I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Will." Hannibal replied before climbing into his vehicle and driving off with one last wave.

Looking back to the detective, glaring at the retreating figure of Hannibal's car, Will raised a brow, tapping the mans shoulder to gain his attention. Blue eyes snapped down to his own, the glare lessening but still present as the man spoke.

"What."

"Well are we going or not?" Will glared back, eyes flinching away after a moment.

"Yeah, get in." The man said, gaze returning to the spot where Hannibal had disappeared.

Will rolled his eyes but followed anyways, the detective following suit and running a hand through golden locks before starting the car.

"You've got too many dogs." He grumbled at the sight of the pack rolling around in the grass. "Not to mention you'd be a prime candidate for a B and E if you didn't live in a shack in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere and probably have nothing worth much."

"Shut up and drive detective."

The man in question smirked at that, flicking his gaze to the other male and looking out the rear window as he pulled back out of the driveway. "Sure thing Agent Graham."

Will snorted, nobody having called him by his official title since he had first received it. "Will."

"Hmm?" The other asked.

"No on- Its not Agent Graham, its Will."

"...Sure thing then Will." The detective repeated, hands tightening nervously on the wheel before continuing. "My names Patrick."


	19. Chapter 19

Hannibal was angry. Not impatient, as he had once been with his Will, but actually visibly angry, hands clenched tightly around the wheel as the doctor took a slightly harder turn than he would normally. The man sighed to himself, embodying his empath for a moment before he took another breath and calmed himself. He considered following the pair and ending the detective when Will mentally spun off but, after a few moments of silent meditation, thought better of it and headed into the depths of the city instead.

Pulling his vehicle into a spot in the park, the doctor pulled on his vest and grabbed a paper bag from the back seat, placing the bottle into the passenger seat and leaning back for a quick nap. By noon he was awake and walking along the pathway that stretched along the treeline of the park, allowing for a light walk and gentle scenery of children swinging or sliding or climbing upon monkey bars. Hannibal ignored it all, heading further along the path until he reached beneath the bridge, scenery changing from light and green to concrete and bloody needles and half broken bottles littering the ground, continuing even further. Pulling open the bag Hannibal removed a bottle of rum, unopened, and placed it upon the ground before backing away to stand in the brush. He would have sat down, the suit needing a good cleaning either way, but instead chose to save the material from any further damage, leaning against a tree and waiting not a half hour before an already drunken male stumbled into the open area.

The homeless man wandered around the area for a few moments before he took notice of the bottle, checking the area with thick, unseeing eyes before cracking the seal and chugging its contents down. Hannibal simply sat back and watched the man, waiting for him to fully pass out before the doctor pulled a needle from a case within his bag, silently stepping from the shadows to inject the man in one of the many tracks littering pale straggly arms. He then pulled back, walking back along the path to the payphone bolted against the side of a building, checking his watch before the doctor picked up the receiver. He looked around the area for a few moments before a pre-teen child wandered around the bend, no parent in sight.

"Excuse me." Hannibal grabbed the boys attention, lolli-pop swinging from one side to the other before the boy came closer at Hannibal's flash of a twenty dollar bill. "Would you like to help me play a prank on someone?"

The boy eyed him warily, then the money before a mischievous, buck-toothed grin was given. The doctor might have been concerned for what and who the child would discuss the encounter with, having full view of the adults face, but the hole-ridden and dirt covered clothing suggested the boy to be an inhabitant of the streets. An unreliable witness at best, and easily found if it became necessary to do so in the most extreme case.

"Sure."

With the promise of money Hannibal had the child call 911, begging for the aid of the detective in question and doing a pretty convincing job by the doctor's standards.

"Please send him.. please-" The doctor cut off the boy, grabbing the device and dropping it as he leisurely shooed off the child with his thanks and the deserved revenue before he stepped back to the opening, the drugged male still blissfully asleep as Hannibal slid back in behind his tree.

Several minutes passed before the sounds of sirens could be heard, followed by a blond haired man in a cheap suit, the mark of a government employee, walking down the pathway and into the opening, being followed by a female uniformed officer. The pair looked around before spotting the drunken male. Hannibal had, of course, done his research to find this specific man, driving to the opposite end of the city just to be in his vicinity, though the doctor's eyes narrowed at the unwanted addition.

"You see if drunkey the clown over there has any info, I'll check the area for the kid. Dispatch said he was young, so be thorough officer." The detective directed, the female nodding sharply, the mark of a freshly trained officer, before moving to do exactly as she was bid and kicking at the sleeping drunk.

"Hey-Hey! Get up." The woman tried again, lifting her head but not turning to look as the detective stepped out of visual range and Hannibal made his move, quickly stepping up behind the officer.

"He's out cold si-" The female started, cut off when the doctor grabbed her skull and slammed it into the ground just hard enough to knock her out before reaching over to grab the bottle of rum half drunk and clutched in a loose grip.

Stepping in behind the pillar the drunken and drugged male was sleeping against, Hannibal relaxed his breathing and stance, closing his eyes and listening for the clack of cheap shoes against broken glass, rushing towards the scene when he noticed his subordinate laying on the ground next to the drunk.

"Get the fuck up buddy, now we're going downtown for a little chat instead. You better pray this officer is ok and we find the kid!" The detective demanded, shaking the unresponsive male twice before dropping him.

Raising a brow the detective dropped the male who fell like a tonne of bricks, lifting a hand to unholster his gun and looking around the area for anyone else. Hannibal stepped out as he did so and brought the bottle down over the detectives head, knocking him out as well. The doctor then wiped down the bottle of any blood or hair and twisted the cap back on before hooking it under his arm, lifting the detective over his shoulder and checking the area as he disappeared into the wooded area.

Will was feeling angry. Not annoyed like he was nearly constantly at Hannibal or belittled like whenever he was in Crawford's presence, but actually angry. Despite knowing that most of that anger was simply a reflection of the blondes own fury at being reduced to a chauffeur, Will remained equally so at the notion that he required any sort of babysitting. The first few moments of silence had passed amicably between the two males as each grumbled silently, until the detective deigned to make the mistake of opening his mouth.

"So, whats so special about you that I have to spend time driving you around twice now."

"Nothing." Will grumbled back under his breath.

"Not what Jack said. He said you were some kind of murder whisperer, like you can get in their heads. Guess I would go crazy too if I could do that." The man responded, mostly speaking to himself but catching his error of judgement when he glanced over to the now fuming male in the passenger seat.

"I'm not crazy." Will ground out, the words sounding more like a wish than anything else.

"Sure."

"Shut the fuck up and just drive." The empath finished, laying back in his seat and attempting to calm himself before he contradicted his previous statement by doing something crazy like attacking a detective while he was driving.

Will sighed deeply, wondering to himself where all the aggression had come from, feeling as though the number of times he was wanting to physically attack someone was dramatically increasing the last few months. The empath tried thinking of his dogs to calm him, the doctors drawn image of Winston flashing in Wills mind and suddenly, he was calm again as though the doctor was in some way exuding calmness from across the city to him. The thought had him blushing slightly, which was noticed by the driver but not commented upon as the pair drove in complete silence the rest of the way.

When the pair pulled onto a side-road Will was jostled back to reality, the bumps keeping him from relaxing as the sound of multiple sirens grew louder and louder until they were in a line-up of cars covered in mud.

"We gotta walk the rest of the way." Patrick stated the obvious as he turned off the vehicle, leaving the keys in the ignition and walking down the muddy road.

"Fuck! These are my good shoes too." The man sighed, glancing over at Will's classical red plaid sweater, jeans and work boots with jealousy, his eyes remaining for too long to be just a glance before he shook his head and trunched forward, glare intensifying.

"Awww." Will mocked the detective, smirking when the males glare shifted back to him before the anger seeped into him and made him glare back.

"Will!" Crawford called from further down the hill. "You, go clear the crime scene." He continued, waving the detective off who grumbled but went to do so nonetheless.

"Why are the local cops here?" Will asked, Jack ignoring him until he repeated the question.

"Hm? Oh one of the vics a local politician, we're assuming the other ones his wife till we make an ID, made the whole city nervous and mayor wants to have his cops and us in a joint task force. Pointless if you ask me but they make for good PR and blocking off the area so Freddie wont be an issue today. Why?"

"Freddie is nothing but a problem on any given day. No reason, just that detective has driven me around twice now and I don't need a bodyguard so..." Will trailed off with a shrug. "Wheres the body."

"Down by the rivers edge, just follow the lights." Crawford waved him off, turning to the group of officers surrounding the agent and relaying all the information that they knew so far.

Will ignored the crowd of people to follow the string of posts, each with a bright light stuck on its tip. The empath followed the trail left for him, dipping under the thick branches and trudging through what felt like even thicker mud. He passed several officers on the way that, besides a sidelong glance, said nothing to him, suiting Will perfectly as he kept his eyes low and away from said officers' gaze. The thick brush thinned to an open beach, completely devoid of any life whatsoever, just the bloated corpse on the shore and him. Will slowly stepped around the corpse, taking in the sights and smells of the area as he started to drift until he could literally hear the pendulum swinging behind him.

A man. A man everyone knows the face of, the name of. Everyone knows his wife and his child and him yet the face that everyone knows is the mask they hide behind. Behind that facade of a face is another man. A man who takes and takes with no regard for those around him. A man that will be responsible for the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands when all is said and done and yet they walk away with no consequences, just like the other pariahs. They surround their prey and control the world and are still unsatisfied.

Will walked around the park, waiting for him to come through on his morning jog. Normally his wife would be with him, the picturesque image of a pair in love, but today Will had made certain he would be alone on his run, so the empath crouched and waited. He heard the panting breaths first, followed closely by the tap-tap-tap of sneakers over the wooden boards of the small bridge right before the bend. Will counted down in his head from five, jumping from the bushes and pointing the hand-gun he had acquired for this very purpose at the man, cocking it to emphasize the threat.

He begged, dropping to his knees like the coward he was and showing his true face for a flash of a second, Will dodging the throw of dirt and the fist that followed as he lifted the gun and slammed the butt of it down on the back of the idiots skull, knocking him out.

It then took hours to properly remove the mans flesh mask, the squirming and screaming not deterring a single sweep of his blade until the entire thing came fully off in one piece. Will had brought the man to a dark dungeon, held down with straps as the torture took place, but even then the empath was not finished, pulling out a second body, female, that had already had the flesh of her head removed. The muscle below was still bleeding but only slightly, the second victim having had it performed first and the male made to watch before the same was done to him. Will carefully swapped out their skin masks, amateurishly sewing them together with the skin below the neck before the pair were made to face themselves on each other. Will had used crazy glue in the skin sacks to help them stick better to the pull of the muscle and though it wasn't perfect, the empath was satisfied and took a seat, cross-legged on the floor next to the wheelchairs he had strapped the pair to.

When he finally got them to cease wailing in pain, the male more so than the female which he found amusing, Will handed the man the gun.

"You only have one bullet so you choose who dies, you, me or her. Be a gentlemen would you and kill the lady, she's been begging for it for hours." He said, giggling with mirth.

The man simply cried back looking at the female who, through slurred words expressed her agreement, begging 'Johnny' to kill her but the male lifted the weapon to his own chin instead, pulling the trigger without a glance to the female and sobbing when he heard the click of the empty chamber.

"You lose, your turn 'Kim', you can kill me and starve to death, kill him or yourself. This time we'll play for real and I'll even give you an extra round." Will started to hum the jeopardy song, opening the chamber and showing the clip, two bullets in it this time.

'Johnny' begged his wife right back, the woman looking at her own face through his eye sockets and slurring a curse at the man before shooting at the empath instead, followed by herself. This time the bullets both went off, the woman dropping in death while Will remained standing.

"Man she really hates you, whoops hated you." Will laughed loudly. "I lied too, first bullet was a blank but wow, left you to starve to death, even I wouldn't do that."

The man with his dead wife's face plastered on just sobbed as Will moved to lift his wife up and out of the room but not before the man got a good look at her once bright blue eyes, faded and gazing out of his face. The river was calm that evening when Will left her body on the shore back in the outfit he had taken her in and even with the necklace around a neck that was both hers and not.

Something wasn't right with the scene though, and suddenly Will was half returned to reality. In the sands by the water he looked back, feeling eyes on him from behind. The detective, in turn stared deeply into dark, evil eyes that spoke clearly.

 _This is my design._


	20. Chapter 20

Will cackled at the sight of the officers blue eyes widening in abject terror, the bond between him and the murderer blurred as he stepped towards the man with a face not unlike the one glued onto the female body lying behind him. Will wondered if this man's face was a mask as well and then the thought of Hannibal entered his mind, a man with the best mask he or his alter ego had ever seen. By the time the idea of making another switch came to mind, Will had come to stand over the nervous male reaching non-subtly to his holster as he slowly stepped back, slipping on the mud and falling on his ass.

Will began to grin at the other, raising his hand but half way through felt himself come back and, more importantly, the other snickering creature fade until it was just Will trying to cease his hysterical laughter as he realized how rightfully frightened the other was of him in that moment. Reaching out a hand to the fallen blonde, Will outwardly smiled while internally his mind was far more terrified than the other could possibly hope to be.

"Sorry, but you shouldn't be here." He offered lightly though the threat was clear.

"...Yeah." The other said, taking the hand and standing back up but not letting go of his holstered weapon.

"Come on, Crawford's waiting." Will sighed, wandering back up the path and using the posts to help pull himself up.

The other said nothing but did follow while attempting to futily wipe away at his muddy pants, though Will could feel the mans eyes on him still.

"I'm done." The empath murmured as he passed Katz, leaning into the hand she placed on his shoulder in support.

"'Kay, Crawford's off with the witness he'll be back any second. You know how he gets when you're around." She spoke softly, pulling him off to the side before continuing. "Who's the bodyguard?"

Will rolled his eyes at that, the detective off speaking with one of his colleagues though he kept glancing over at the empath. "My driver."

"Driver? He just came up with you from the river-" She teased lightly.

"He shouldn't have been there." Will immediately responded, any semblance of humour gone.

"I know." Katz agreed, squeezing his arm lightly.

The empath leaned back and sighed out the tension. "Crawford sent him to get me, something about too many cars cluttering the road."

"Ahh... Is he single?" She asked suddenly, laughing when Will sputtered.

"How the fuck would I know? Only met him twice and one of those times he was jumping on my car... I know his name is Patrick. Patrick Rishe." Will added when Katz tugged at his arm for more.

"Well hello detective Patrick Rishe." Katz growled lowly, turning when the empath laughed at her. "What? He's hot."

Will just continued to laugh until the joyful atmosphere was broken at the all too familiar cry of his name.

"WILL! There you are, what did you find out?" Crawford jumped in, adding "A pretty sick guy."

"Hello Jack." Will mocked, smirking lightly at the grunt of reciprocity before Katz took her leave with one last pat to his shoulder. "And she is not insane in the slightest, more dramatic than anything."

"She? A woman did this?" Jack snorted in disbelief at Will's thoughtful nod.

"She is getting some sort of revenge from taking people and showing themselves the mask they wear while simultaneously ridding them of their own. It's a show, a chance for her to really see her victims before she has them kill themselves, and shes not done."

"Obviously, what did she do with deputy mayor Gull?"

Will looked around the field, filled with suited and uniformed officers and agents. "I don't know, but this was just to make him ready, now she's gonna show everyone who he really is." The empath pulled back, feeling the words as though coming from the murderers lips herself, before continuing with a grunt. "Just like she showed him and his wife."

"Why the wife though? If she wants this revenge on him what's she going after the innocent spouse for, she's the owner of a god damn bakery."

"I don't think she's innocent, not to the murderer anyways. She did something." Will trailed off, bringing a hand up to rub his brow. "She's a local."

"What?" Crawford asked, barely listening as he furiously wrote out page after page of notes.

"Our killer. She's from somewhere around here, was moving through the park in the morning with I'm guessing no viable witness." Will smirked as Crawford's jaw clenched in anger, enough of an agreement for the empath to continue. "So she's from here, that means she did this somewhere else, abandoned building or basement or something."

"Good, good. Is he alive at least?" The man's pen hesitated.

"Yes. She wants his execution to be public."

"Publ- Light City Baltimore is in less than a week." Crawford looked up at him, eyes hollowing as he considered the possibilities, with such large crowds of people.

Will looked back, more certain than Crawford could be of the citizens safety though he knew any effort to calm the mans approach going forward would be useless. He tried to think of something he could say to diffuse the bomb threats going off in the agents mind but it was too late and Crawford was already grouping together the officers to list off instructions.

"Jack." Will grabbed the mans attention once he sent the others away. "She's planned for everything including us finding his wife, and she knows exactly who she took." He urged.

Crawford nodded but Will could see in his eyes that he didn't really understand what the empath was saying.

"Oiy" The man called out, shoving the empath towards the detective and ordering the man to drive Will to the academy, Will feeling distinctly like he had been placed in time out for questioning the agent.

"Yes sir." The detective responded automatically.

When Will just continued to glare at the retreating figure of the agent, the detective reached out to grab his wrist and began to drag him along. Will ignored the dragging sensation for a few moments before the feeling of deja vu came over him and he took notice of the man gripping his wrist. The empath tugged away in pure reaction before the possibility that the flesh might bruise once more rose in him.

That thought had Will ripping his hand away with a shocked yell. "Don't fucking touch me."

The detective immediately moved back, noticing how tight his grip had become and, with the harsh yanks, Will was certain the flesh would turn back to purple in several minutes.

"Shit. Shit-shit." Will spat on his wrist and rubbed the skin uselessly. "That's definitely gonna bruise."

"Hm. Some agent of the FBI you are." The man responded without thinking, then remembered all the information the empath had provided just by looking at the crime scene, not to mention the insane look that spoke of the mans true capabilities and turned to mutter an apology, but Will was already gone.

The empath ignored the car rumbling up next to him on the bumpy but getting to be less muddy road, not that it mattered with his work boots on. He ignored the window rolling down, as well as whatever was shouted out at him, and simply side-stepped the vehicle when it tried to cut him off. It then moved up a few feet before the detective jumped out of the drivers seat and physically blocked him from passing.

"I'm sorry alright, get in the car." The man stated, but Will simply side-stepped him as well and continued to walk.

"How are you going to get to the academy then?" He called, Will waving his cell phone in the air which was immediately after shot out of his hand.

He stopped mid-step, looking back to the male in shock whose weapon was pointing back down from its raised position, his glare intensifying as he finally looked directly at the officer.

"I'm a good shot, don't worry." The detective grinned at him mockingly. "So now will you get in the car?"

Will turned fully around and started walking back to the vehicle. The mans grin widened the closer the agent got to him, thinking he had won, until they were standing too close and the detective suddenly felt trapped by the smaller man not two feet from him.

"Give me your phone." Will demanded as he held out his hand, annoyed at himself for even considering the mans feelings of fear at all on the shore.

The detective did pull out his phone but raised it behind his head and smirked at him like a child. Will counted to five slowly in his head, only reaching three before he pulled out his own gun and pointed it at the mans face.

"What? Gonna shoot me?" The man asked with a nervous smirk as he was once again reminded of how wary he should be of the empath.

"No." Will said simply, twisting the weapon in his hand and jabbing the right angled corner of it into the detectives neck, smirking back at the male, now sputtering for air from his position on on ground.

"Some detective you are." He mocked as he picked up the dropped phone, pulling open the phone app and dialing in Hannibal's cell number that had been memorized during the week when he had had nearly no sleep and seriously contemplated calling the doctor multiple times.

The first call rung until the voicemail sounded, Will hanging up and redialing. This time the device rang three times before it was answered.


	21. Chapter 21

"Hannibal Lector, how may I assist you?" Hannibal spoke coolly, Will stifling his laughter as he holstered his weapon and responded.

"Doc." Will muttered under his breath in the best Patrick Rishe imitation he could, glancing briefly at the man still grasping his neck and gasping in deep breaths on his knees.

An incredibly uncharacteristic sigh was heard on the other end, Will almost thinking another person was there before the doctor continued.

"Ahh. Detective Rishe, how may I ask did you get my number." The doctor demanded politely, and Will was gratified to know the tone wasn't directed only towards him.

"Will." He offered, having no real other alternative though the pause on the other end of the line had the empath feeling as though he had said something wrong.

"Hm. And how is Will if I may ask." The other spoke politely but sharply.

With his mind racing and coming up short Will said simply, "Busy..." the joke becoming less and less funny the longer it went on.

At the long pause Will could read the others annoyance and decided to end the butcher of a joke before the man became angry at him too. "Hey, hey Hannibal, its me. I was just kidding, it seemed funnier in my head though... Sorry."

The line remained silent and Will had almost thought the man had hung up before the doctor was heard again.

"Will." The man spoke, almost chiding him before he laughed lightly at the empaths apology "Where are you calling from?"

"Well actually detective Rishe's phone... Mine was SHOT!" Will yelled the last word to the man who had actually destroyed the device, hugging the mans phone to his chest to save the doctors ears.

"Shot." Hannibal asked, the command slightly muffled by his coat.

"Yeah, but don't worry cause 'he's a good shot'. Jackass." Will murmured into the receiver.

"Indeed." The doctor agreed, shocking Will into a smile.

"Anyways I'm heading to the academy, whenever you're free can you meet me there? Obviously I won't have a phone so..." The empath trailed off.

"Of course Will. I look forward to seeing you, however, I had not expected you to be done so soon."

"Jack." Will said simply, the doctor humming in understanding. "Whenever you're done then, I'll see you there?"

"You shall," Hannibal spoke warmly, "soon. I will need about an hour to finish though."

"Ok I'll be waiting. Bye." Will hung up the phone to cut off whatever embarrassing thing the doctor might have said, tossing it to the man who had just climbed to his feet, glaring at the grinning empath. "Now I'll get in the car."

The detective swung the door open harshly, Will stepping into it before adding, "Thank you Patrick."

But the detective simply snarled and slammed the door shut, walking around the vehicle and climbing in to drive. Half way to the academy, back on smooth highways, the officer turned to glance at him.

"What?" Will asked after the second flicking of eyes occurred, feeling them on him even with his own gaze lowered.

"Nothing." The man turned back to the road, glancing over for a third time not a minute later.

"What." The empath ground out.

"Nothing, just you and your therapist seem cozy." He muttered under his breath. "Driving you around an' all."

"Are we cozy?" Will asked mockingly at that and gestured at their own situation, the man smirking at him before responding.

"Two peas."

"Well I live in bum-fuck nowhere so I'm not paying a cab to bring me an hour out of the city." The empath spoke, adding "And he's not my therapist."

"Oh. Well I did drive you to his office, seemed like your therapist." The blonde quipped, fist raising to hold his cheek up as he came to stop in the heat of traffic.

"He's not." Will remained adamant.

"Then what is he?" The detective asked after a brief pause.

"He's..." Will thought on it, having no other description to offer but, "my friend."

Will felt unsatisfied with the answer, the detective as well if the snort was anything to go by.

"What." The empath demanded.

The officers hand on the wheel shifted nervously at the serious tenor but muttered out, "Nothing."

So Will leaned back in his seat and, with a sigh, attempted to relax until the blonde spoke yet again.

"You know that was pretty incredible, but are you ok?"

The brunette sat up at that, closely scrutinizing the other to make certain he was not being mocked before responding. "...Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Just drive." Will mumbled, closing his eyes.

 _Will looked around the cavern as slowly as possible. He shut his eyes and listened but there was no sound or sight of either creature, while he remained seated where he had previously been. If he looked closely enough, Will could see the indents from where the Stag's antlers had pierced into the rock and dirt and almost into him. Shuddering at the memory, the empath considered not moving at all but his legs were beginning to fall asleep and it would be an obviously stupid move to not at least try. Will leaned forward, placing his palms upon the floor and pushing up into a stance as silently as he could, grateful for the first time he had begun hallucinating that he wasn't wearing any shoes as he tiptoed to the entrance._

 _Once he was back far enough into the fields Will ran happily through the bloody grass and directly to his house. He had even begun to slightly, ever so slightly, miss the screams of victims reminding him of his purpose, a call to not allow their numbers to grow that Will listened to intently. The empath paused along the edge of his house, feeling far safer in the open expanse until he saw a flash of something. Will turned, fully expecting to see the Stag but instead, in his usual fashion, stood Hobbs._

 _"See." The man repeated._

 _"I don't know what you want me to see." Will called back, feeling that nauseating feeling return with the site of the ghost._

 _"SEE!" Hobbs cried out, the empath backing away in terror before realizing Hobbs wasn't looking at him anymore, and the cry was one of panic not anger._

 _Will saw a flash of something bright fly at him out of the corner of his eye, the thing pouncing before he could even turn his head to look as a familiar yet untraceable snickering drifted off in the background._

He was shaken awake to find himself in the FBI academy parking lot, sitting up with a gasp and almost thinking he had lost time once more before he noticed the detective, relaxed back in his own seat.

"Hey, are you sure your fine?" The detective asked lightly, an unfamiliar concern lacing his voice.

"Ask me one more time." Will threatened with a side-long glare.

The man grinned at him, looking over the dashboard as he heeded the threat. "Thought you could use the rest. Also you didnt wake up the first time and I needed some sleep too."

"Oh... Thanks." Will yawned, tapping his thighs lightly before thinking of something else to say. "So, how do you know Jack?"

"Hm?" The detective snapped his gaze back to Will so fast he figured the man would have whiplash.

"Crawford said that the local cops were here because of the politician, but you were at the last one too. He wouldn't just send the same random detective to drive me around twice." He added.

The detective sighed deeply before he looked out the window, "He knew my dad..." he said simply, though it was clear there was more to the story.

Will became nervous as well, checking his watch again before actually seeing the time, jumping up, and fiddling with the door handle. "Ok well I gotta go, thanks though."

"Umm, ok?" The detective reached over the empath to pull up the door lock.

"Oh, thanks. See you, Patrick." The empath spoke, running off towards the entrance with a short wave.

The blonde lifted a hand in response, raising a brow at the man before rolling his eyes and starting back up the vehicle.

Will dashed through the entryway, usually packed with potential agents-to-be but on this day completely empty, the thumping of his feet over the concrete being the only sound that echoed through the open halls. He ran down past his office, checking it quickly before heading towards his classroom and slamming open the doors with the last burst of energy he had before falling into one of the chairs, gasping for air.

What seemed like less then a second and at the same time over an hour, but was really only about a minute, a figure came to stand over him. Will didn't have to look up to know it was the doctor, the fancy shiny shoes enough of a sign. A hand came to lift his chin and Will went slack in the grip, connecting his gaze with the other mans.

Before he had the chance to speak the empath panted out, "Sorry."

Hannibal simply smiled at him, lowering but not kneeling on the floor to come eye level with the empath. "It was no trouble Will," the doctor leaned in to kiss the mans forehead lightly, "I am glad to see you."

"Miss me already?" Will asked in broken heaps of air, laughing lightly at the attempt before his chin was pulled in closer.

"Yes." Hannibal spoke, connecting their lips as he did so in a chaste but meaningful kiss, rising back up and offering a gentlemanly arm out. "Shall we?"

Will gnawed at the inside of his cheek but smirked at the other's half-joking, half not, gesture. He pulled himself back up instead, trying to ignore the heavy feeling of hiding information from the doctor as he moved to the door and opened it for the other male before walking out after him, subtly pulling down the cuff of his sweater.


	22. Chapter 22

"Thank you Will. How was your latest murderer." The doctor spoke as the pair walked to the elevators, Hannibal having parked under the building.

"Um, different. I mean I don't know if it's because she's a female or if it's just that she's insane but it's different." Will pondered out loud.

"You have encountered many insane female murderers have you not? So what is it about her specifically that is different."

"It's the way she thinks. It's not like she's playing a game, more like she is an unwitting player that's just trying to survive. But it's so open and carefree, she doesn't think about those that will catch her as enemies but obstacles to circumvent and she plans out for every detail while moving around with such fluidity... it's..." The empath followed the other male out of the building. "Its so... counter-intuitive."

"She is the hero in her mind, and yet she seems to understand the need or 'justness', shall we say, of her seemingly villianess acts. How intriguing." Hannibal spoke, climbing into his vehicle only after holding the door for the empath.

"Thank you. Yeah, both and neither..." Will trailed off, smiling awkwardly when the doctor swept his curls out of his face. "Crawford's got this idea that there's going to be some mass attack but I get the feeling that she wants us to think that way."

"So what would be advantageous to a murderer being surrounded by officers." Hannibal thought out loud, mostly to himself but, glancing at the empath, found himself to have sparked his Will's genius.

"Surrounded by officers from out of county, possibly out of state. The chaos and dysfunction that comes with being surrounded by different policing agencies." The empath murmured, reaching over to lay a hand on Hannibal's arm. "Can I use your phone."

"Of course." Hannibal handed over the device, stroking over Wills fingers as he did so and satisfied when the empath took no notice of the action.

The tone rang only twice before it was answered. "Crawford."

"It's Will, listen I need you to not call in the state."

"Will? Why are you calling me from Doctor Lectors phone?" The agent asked.

"Mine is...dead- It doesn't matter, just don't call in the state for more bodies." Will grumbled, sticking his tongue out when Hannibal smirked at him for the not untrue statement before the man began to drive off.

"Too late, got out of state too."

"Crawford you have to listen to me. That is exactly-"

"Too late and not your call Will, besides, there's no way she'll get past an army of us. Let me know if there's anything else you got on our girl."

"Crawf-" Will started but was cut off when the man in question ended the call. "-fucking asshole!"

"Language please, though that was rather rude of agent Crawford." Hannibal added from his seat, putting his phone away as they came to a stop and hesitating in thought at how difficult it might be to make the man disappear into an entree or two before he exited the vehicle.

"Where are we?" Will asked, looking around the underground parking lot and feeling dread seep into him as all the cars he could see were collectibles, rare editions or worse, limousines parked with drivers having a smoke as they waited for their bosses. "Hannibal."

"Yes Will?" The man asked, smirking at the empath's obvious discomfort.

"Where are we?" Will asked again, his only answer being a hand coming to grasp his wrist lightly, the empath wincing as those fingers unintentionally pressed into his bruised flesh.

Hannibal noticed but did not say anything beyond loosening his grip, leading the empath forward silently until they were trapped within the elevator with no escape, and Will was almost relieved when the man next spoke.

"I had assumed you would be at your crime scene for some time and so did not have to chance to prepare you something myself." Hannibal answered his question but the bland tone spoke easily of the doctors annoyance.

Will lasted less than five seconds in the uncomfortable silence that followed. "I didn't lie." He burst out what Hannibal really wanted to hear, clutching at his wrist in nervousness. "It was an accident."

Hannibal walked up to him, finally pressing the button and making the elevator move up before pushing Will into the corner, lifting his arms to fully entrap the shaking male.

"You are not being honest either." The doctor used his own words against him.

This made the nervous empath glare back at the other male. "Then how about I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Hannibal smirked at that, leaning in closer despite the lift bringing them closer to what had to be the top floor.

"Will." He chided the empath. "Detective Rishe should not be handling you in such a manner."

"He wasn't 'handling' me... Just was following orders is all. Crawford told him to drive me out here like some kind of punishment and Patrick was being an ass so I was just gonna call you instead but he shot my phone. Besides," he added at Hannibal's shift of demeanor, gesturing to his wrist, "I gave him one too so we're even."

"Patrick?" Hannibal asked and Will could feel the anger radiating off the man in waves now, a chilling sensation crawling up his spine at the others look of actual anger.

The elevator door binged open to a singlar male, standing behind a podium and dressed in a tuxedo, complete with white gloves. He even had a monocle fitted into his left eye socket that somehow did not fall out as he looked at the pair with not even a raised brow. Hannibal stared at Will for another moment before spinning around, wrapping an arm around the empath's waist and leading him forward. Will stepped forward with the other male extremely unwillingly, though he followed the doctor's lead without even attempting to pull away.

"Ah, Docteur Lector, nous avons préparé votre table et vous attendez. Monsieur."

 _Ah, Doctor Lector, We have prepared the table you requested. Sir._

The man finished in a far less enthusiatic tone when regarding Will's appearance, caked in mud and looking like the farmer he technically was.

"Come along Will." The doctor led him forward, nodding to the maitre d' with a smile, the man returning it before he walked the pair through the nicest restaurant Will had ever stepped foot in.

Will might have been offended at the clear disdain held for him if he didn't already feel like a stain upon the place, surrounded by the rich and powerful of Baltimore who all looked, with a mixture of amusement and disgust, at his very presence. They deferred, however, from making a single sound in an obvious sign of respect for the man leading him through the place, somehow and seemingly easily holding an even more imposing stature. It was equally shocking and unsurprising, the doctor always having been so reclusive from the empath's clearly limited opinion of the man, though he probably should've expected it from the others demeanor. Will once again felt like an ass, provoking Hannibal and essentially lying by omission while the man treated him to another masterpiece of eatery, this time in full view of his peers in a show of unabashed care for the empath.

The maitre d' opened a sliding door that was partially cut off from the rest of the place, a singular table in the room that was surrounded by windows, showcasing a panoramic view of the city of Baltimore from the most exclusive of venues. The empath almost ran to the window in child-like wonder, though the feeling of Hannibal still being annoyed kept him in his place. He sat nervously in the chair the doctor pulled out for him, ignoring the second man who, already waiting in the room, took an order of wine from Hannibal before leaving the pair in an uncomfortable silence that Will broke moments later.

"I don't understand why you're upset..." Will trailed off, trying to come up with the answer and failing. "I mean, I hit him back. It was actually kind of funny."

"He should not have handled you in such a way." The doctor repeated coolly, ruining the empath's smile.

"I'm not some kind of china plate." Will stated under his breath, even more confused as the statement only seemed to make the other seethe more.

"Agreed." Hannibal responded in a terrifyingly calm voice, rising from his seat to stand over the shaking male.

Both men ignored a woman wandering into the room with a bottle of something, placing it on the table and leaving without a glance to either of them. While Will nervously shifted his eyes from the doctor to the woman to the wine, Hannibal remained gazing at him.

"I have never considered you to be fragile or weak in any way Will. My point is not that you are incapable, but that others lack the willingness to care for your well-being. Such should be given automatically if they expect to use your abilities to their advantage, and yet Agent Crawford belittles your talents while ignoring your internal battles, leaving them to myself to suppress long enough that you may be of continued use to his institution and career. Alana perceives you to need coddling in each and every facet of your life while those you seek to aid ignore and mock you as well as the sacrifice you have made, or even worse physically harm you. I do not think you are delicate, nor in need of constant supervision, and yet when the care of you is left to anyone save myself you are apparently in constant pain be it mental," he continued, tapping a finger just above Wills bruised wrist, "or physical, and that is simply unacceptable."

"I- I don't expect other people to care or worry about my head or my life. I'm fine." Will mumbled, futilely attempting to draw back the mans anger with platitudes as he couldn't disagree with the points the doctor had made.

"A fitting position to hold considering you lack the will to care for yourself as well. When I offered to take on the responsibility I did not simply mean to change your own tendencies regarding your well-being." Hannibal stated clearly, adding, "Detective Rishe should not be so careless as to drag you around after you have experienced your visions. What is it." He added lowly, noticing Will's change in demeanor immediately.

Will shifted his gaze around the room, turning back to the doctor and humming lowly. "...What?"

"What else occurred Will." Hannibal restated, leaning in even further and turning Will's face to look directly at him.

"Wha- Nothing." The empath quipped, trying and failing to pull away from Hannibal's insistent grip.

"Will." Hannibal demanded an answer, his tone brokering no argument.

Will narrowed his eyes in return, though they flickered shut a moment later, before speaking. "Nothing. You're right, he shoudn't have been around me then..." He finished vaguely, the doctor immediately latching onto the slipped detail.

"When Will."

"When I was busy cutting the faces off people and making them kill each other!" The empath ground out rather loudly, hushing his voice to save others from his internal horror show and bringing his hand up to rip at his curls, if only to stop his vision from swirling with blood.


	23. Chapter 23

Hannibal's eyes narrowed further, though Will could feel the mans annoyance shift from him to the detective almost automatically. Despite this the doctor pulled back, sighing if only to invoke one in the empath and shifting some of those curls out of the mans face with far more care than Will had shown, silently proving his point that he cared more for this and every other piece of Will than even the man himself did.

"I would ask you not hide such things from me Will. I only wish to help you." Hannibal finished, switching the topic and simultaneously bringing them back to their current situation, his tone once again light.

The doctor pulled Will's head closer to place a kiss on his forehead, followed by one upon his nose and finally tilting the empath's skull to connect their lips. His Will attempted to pull away when a waiter stepped into the room, standing to the side and keeping their eyes low but Hannibal held the empath in the kiss for another moment before pulling back with a light smile and retaking his seat. The waiter popped out the wine bottles cork and poured the pair a glass each, handing over two menus and leaving with the thanks of the doctor. Will, on the other hand, had barely managed to snap his mouth shut and thank the waiter as the boy slid the partition shut, blush rising on his cheeks.

"What the hell was that?" The empath blurted out after a few moments of silence.

Hannibal merely smirked at him in return. "A kiss. Three to be precise."

"Yeah..but... what the hell was that?" Will reiterated, shell shocked expression having yet to fade.

Hannibal kept the smirk up without a response, however, enjoying the mass of nervous energy that was a surprised Will Graham.

"You just-" The empath cut himself off, suddenly catching on and continuing, a smirk rising to his own lips as he did so. "Wait... Are you jealous doctor?"

The doctor did not flinch, though his eyes did finally move from Will to the menu as his companion laughed from across the table.

"You are..." The empath added incredulously.

"Perhaps I am Will." The man said simply, glancing back at him with a small smile that sucked all the astonishment out of him, a comfortable warmth left in its place. "Do I have any cause to be?"

"Uhh..." Will trailed off, annoyed at how easily the doctor was able to flip the conversation back into his favour while the empath was left to stumble upon situations where he unwittingly had the upper hand, blush returning and eyes looking down to his own menu as he answered. "No."

"Then I shall endeavor to be less possessive of you Will." Hannibal laughed lightly at the sight of that growing blush, his heart skipping a beat as his Will attempted to hide it behind the menu.

"Do you know what you would like Will." The doctor spoke up again after a few moments.

"Uhmm..." Will murmured, only just looking at the actual items on the menu and realizing after two seconds he didn't know what over half of it meant.

His nerves shot back up when Hannibal stood once more, coming to lean over his shoulder and look at the menu with him. "Are you interested in anything particular Will."

"I..." The empath sighed to calm himself once again. "I don't know what any of this means, besides poulet, beof, and fromage."

"What would you like to eat Will." The doctor repeated his query, drawing the males attention to himself and away from the menu.

Smirking at the blush raising further up normally pale skin, Hannibal reiterated a third time for his own amusement as his thumb brushed over a reddened cheek, "Anything you like."

Will turned his eyes away from the doctor and thought about it, drawing a blank as the other man usually just brought him food as opposed to him choosing from a never ending list of options he was certain the doctor could accommodate. He considered just choosing something randomly from the menu but Hannibal kept him trapped with the hand on his cheek so Will was forced to consider what he might actually feel like eating. Will half-smiled at the brief idea of saying a burger and having Hannibal try to convey it to the waiter before he became serious, mind still a blank sheet.

"What Will." Hannibal urged at the empath's smile.

"...Well I was gonna say a burger. I think that just seems kind of out of place for wherever we are but it's the only thing I usually eat in the city, or pizza or any street meat really, so I don't really know." Will murmured, reminded of the conversation just moments ago when the doctor raised a brow with a light smirk.

"Then you may have one." Hannibal responded lightly, leaning forward to press their foreheads together gently and pulling the menu from the empath's loose grip before retaking his seat once more.

"But-" Will cut himself off, sighing when he realized he had already said too much for the doctor to let it go and expecting the response when it came.

"What is it Will, would you prefer pizza." The doctor forced himself to say, tilting his head slightly at his Will's shaking head.

"No, its just that seems..." The empath trailed off, looking around the room pointedly and finishing with a vague, "out of place."

"Will." Hannibal spoke up suddenly, completely endeared to the man in that and, to be completely honest, all other moments. "You should not feel embarrassed to ask for that which you want, no matter the setting."

"Yeah... But this is like your world, I just don't-" The empath snapped his mouth shut before he finished that sentence and lowered his eyes, Hannibal clearly already knowing where he was going as the doctor finished it for him.

"You just don't wish to feel out of place within 'my world'. You are afraid, essentially, of embarrassing me." The doctor leaned forward with a light smile. "But don't you know Will, you are of more worth within such a place than anything and anyone else. In fact, I would propose the opposite thought. Perhaps you are exactly where you belong."

With nothing else to cover his blush, Will raised a hand over it, nodding simply to cease the doctors blatant reveal of his inner feelings and thanking every god he could name when the waiter walked back into the room to stop the line of conversation. Hannibal's eyes were finally forced away from his companion and turned back to the young waiter to order for the both of them while the empath gazed out the window, grimacing behind his hand when he did hear the word 'burger' exit the doctors lips in an act Will never thought would come to pass. The boy, however, did not seem to react beyond a slight widening of his smile, bowing slightly and leaving the room once more.

The empath tried not to huff in annoyance when the doctor looked back at him in an attempt at being polite, the man no doubt going to insist on buying him his meal and Will not able to imagine what a burger alone would cost in such an establishment, let alone the bottle of wine. Hannibal, for all his skill at sparking conversation from the empath, just continued to stare with that all-knowing and non-telling smirk, a total of six seconds passing before Will let the huff out in his hand. The doctor continued to make no move to start back up the conversation, obviously gaining a great deal of pleasure from simply watching him squirm in his seat, and the empath could take it no longer.

"I think that the, uhm, the girl is working alone..." Will blurted out the first thing he could think of as his hand rose further to run through his hair, continuing when the doctor just stared silently. "Which p-probably means she's got some means of funding herself."

Finally Hannibal took pity on his Will's attempt at distraction through small talk which, in their case, involved the innermost thoughts and acts of murderers.

His smirk, however, widened as he spoke. "A benefactor perhaps."

The empath's eyes shot to his for a second, slowly glazing over in thought before Will responded with far more confidence. "Yes. Exactly like a benefactor."

The doctor went back to silently watching as Will put together more pieces of his current puzzle, the empath far too gone to notice the attention anymore.

Will was completely focused on the killer once more. 'Benefactor' was actually a perfect description of the person who stood in the shadows and provided all needed aid to the killer. They were certainly manipulating her, though she would be inclined to agree with the basic principles of her benefactor were the outcome not so horrific. Whomever it was had changed her irrevocably, and though the entirety of the world would overwhelmingly perceive her actions as evil, between her and her benefactor she could see how worthless those positions all were. She avoided those she considered to be innocent and went out of her way to target those who were not as she played the game her benefactor laid out for her in loose terms she would execute to her own desire. A true partnership between two radically different personalities which made the other everything she wasn't.

Where she was wild, her partner would be specific and calculating. Where she targeted the guilty in any and every capacity, her partner would be careless about collateral damage beyond achieving the goals they worked towards. She was completely focused on her task, while her partner would stand back and provide the means for her to do so. The two did not seem sexual in Wills opinion but he could not be certain of that until he had more information, surprised by the insight brought on by his table companion. He was beginning to realize just how much the doctor was able to help him sort through the entanglements he often found himself in, looking up to find the man in question once again staring at him. This time he simply tilted his head at the doctor with a suspicious look, as the benefactor, no doubt, would do the same act for the killer, making his and Hannibal's relationship not completely unlike the woman and her partner.

"What have you learned Will." The doctor asked him.

The empath didn't even hear the words, staring back at Hannibal in a completely uncharacteristic act as he silently scrutinized the male. The act went on for some time, neither looking away though Will's eyes remained glazed over as he attempted to rip away his brain from that of the benefactors, expressed in his mind for the time being in the form of the man across the table.

He snapped back to reality as the waiter walked in with two plates placed before them, the boy bowing lightly and leaving with an extremely respectful, "Bon appetit."

Hannibal and Will both thanked the boy once more as he shut the partition further. Will glanced at the doctor's meal, his jaw literally dropping as he took notice of the, somehow incredibly fancy looking burger placed before the man and checking his own plate to make certain the waiter hadn't made some mistake, though the smirk upon Hannibal's face said enough.

Hannibal rolled his shoulders in a light shrug, forcing down the urge to laugh at his Will's aghast looking face before speaking. "You will not be able to eat properly with your jaw upon the floor Will."

That made Will snap his mouth shut, completely and utterly speechless as his gaze drifted between the man, his plate and back again before finally forcing his lips to form the only possible question he could ask in such a situation. "This isn't like a 'burger' is it?"


End file.
